Walsh aims to bow out on a high against South Africa

Courtney Walsh looks set to retire from Test match cricket after the fifth and final test of West Indies' series with South Africa. The 38-year-old, who holds the record for number of Test victims, is likely to bow out before his adoring home crowd at Sabina Park.

Walsh had planned his retirement to be after the current series, and says that "nothing has changed" to make him decide otherwise. He will speak to West Indies skipper Carl Hooper before making a formal announcement.

The Jamaican insisted that his impending exit from the game should not be the main focus point of the match. It is one which the West Indies desperately want to win to restore some pride, having already lost the series. He told CricInfo's Colin Croft: "The Test series is upmost in our minds; we want to get back and win this game."

Walsh's wicket tally stands at 513. Just over a year since Walsh dismissed Henry Olonga to go past Kapil Dev in the list of all time wicket-takers, he has added another 78 Test wickets to his total.

The current series against South Africa has proved successful personally for Walsh. He trapped Jacques Kallis leg before at Port-of-Spain to earn his 500th Test match victim. In all, the series has so far brought Walsh 19 wickets.

Walsh said that he was still enjoying his cricket. "It's nice to still be able to perform at this level. I'm happy to still be competing. I want to go out with a bang." Careful to play down his record, he said he wanted to be remembered "as a performer who gave 100% to the team".

Walsh thinks that the West Indies are in the process of rebuilding. "This Test match is very important. It could be the turning point where the guys get that winning feeling. It would be nice if it could start here in the final one for me."

Should Walsh retire now, cricket will bid farewell to one of its finest bowlers. The Fifth Test at Sabina Park will be his 132nd. Added to this are dedicated performances for Jamaica and Gloucestershire, who he served as overseas player for twelve seasons.

He has taken nearly 1,800 first-class wickets, and even scored 4,500 first-class runs. The effort which Walsh has shown is phenomenal, and few would begrudge him a hatful of wickets as he leaves the international stage.

Walsh - retirement looms Photo CricInfo