Stewart will retire with 133 Test caps

The Surrey and England wicketkeeper is his country's most capped player, having made his international debut in 1990.

He first appeared for Surrey in 1981, a year before James Anderson, one of his England team-mates this summer, was born.

Saying farewell to a sport you have served so well can be an emotional time, as two stalwarts of the Test Match Special commentary box can testify.

However, Angus Fraser and Mike Selvey look back on retiring from very different perspectives.

Angus Fraser

For someone who has achieved as much as Alec has it's nice to be able to make the decision to retire rather than wait for the selectors to drop you.

I think he has chosen the right moment, although, not because he wasn't good enough, the selectors should have started planning for the future and looked somewhere else a while ago.

But that's not Stewie's problem. All he can do is play to the best of his ability and leave that decision up to the selectors.

Now he has taken the big step I think he'll find he will still want to play cricket and, like me, he will find that his cricketing life goes almost full circle.

He first played the game because he loved it and that feeling will remain Angus Fraser on Alec Stewart

For people like me and Stewie, who have been committed to cricket for such a long time, it is hard to let go.

I found quitting the game tough and very emotional.

You play cricket in the first place because you love it. It then becomes your job and it is at that stage that it can become something you don't appreciate as much as you should as it becomes your work.

Cricket is a lifestyle, not just a career. It takes up so much time and finding something to replace it can be difficult.

I was lucky enough to have options and remain involved in the game, but I'm fully aware that not as many people are as lucky as me.

But I'm still playing bits and pieces now and I think Stewie, although I'd be surprised if he didn't have something lined up, will want to play because he'll miss the crack.

That's one of the reasons I found retiring so hard - you don't want to let go because you've had so much fun.

It dawns on you that it's gone - like a lot of things you don't appreciate what you had until it's gone Angus Fraser

You find yourself wishing you were 22 again and that you could go through it all again, but it soon becomes obvious that although the mind's willing, the body will not allow you to do what you once could.

That realisation's frustrating and it suddenly dawns on you that it's gone, although the decision making process becomes easier when you know that you cannot perform to the standards you want to.

I finished at the start of the season and announced when my last game would be.

There isn't really a satisfactory way to go unless you do a Mike Atherton and give a little wave over the shoulder and say thanks for the memories.

Although it's nice to get the treatment and for people to show their appreciation, you don't want to lose the fact that 21 other players are involved and the result of the game remains the most important thing.

Mike Selvey

Sometimes there's a danger that the tail wags the dog in cricket and, although long-standing players deserve some leeway, it's slightly arrogant for people to say I'm going to pack up after that game.

No fuss says Alec at the start of the season when he makes the announcement, but that's exactly what he'll get.

He was never going to go quietly and I don't begrudge him that as he has been a great servant, although I think Athers did it the right way.

Alec's perfectly capable of carrying on for the next three or four years and he'd probably still be the best person for the job.

The day I packed up I never wanted to play again Mike Selvey Feature: Taylor applauds Stewart reign

Bob Taylor was playing for England when he was nearly 44, but Alec's decided enough's enough.

It's a rare person who goes while they are still a force.

There's usually a reason why you retire. Your form drops off or the injuries mount up and you decide to call it quits. You end up knowing it's time to go, you just know.

It's usually the body that gives out. It's not quite as easy to get out of bed in the morning and mentally that proves difficult. You're not quite up for it and something you used to love becomes a chore.

The great surprise is the number of people who say they don't miss it when they do pack up - I certainly didn't.

I had no idea what I was going to do. I'd spent 30-odd years - as long as I could remember - playing cricket every single day that I could.

But the day I packed up I never wanted to play again. It was the right thing to do and I don't regret it, nor do I miss playing.