Trojans cricket legend Jamie Donaldson has called time on a career spanning four decades, well over 350 matches with a staggering haul of 500 or more wickets, bowled at a hugely impressive economy rate.

At a towering 6'8" and arguably the tallest cricketer to have played locally, Donaldson joined Trojans when he was in his teens at King Edward VI School in Southampton.

Now in his fifties and a key member of Hampshire's 50-plus county side, Donaldson has decided to hang up his boots, confessing "my body has told me to stop."

"Jamie's been an absolute legend at Trojans. His commitment to the cause has been staggering," said Trojans chairman Nigel le Bas.

"He drives up from his home near New Milton to play regularly and in his early days he was regularly commuting down from London to open the bowling. Indeed, once he played on his weekend break between a two-week work trip to New York!"

A long time team-mate from behind the stumps at Stoneham Lane, wicketkeeper Le Bas believes that, like a good wine, Donaldson's bowling has matured with age. 

"He's an away swing bowler who used to have some genuine pace and obvious bounce from his 6ft 8 frame, but he recently became unerringly accurate with the ability to swing and seam the ball," he explained.

The respect Donaldson is shown by opposition batsmen was never more apparant than in the final match of the reason when Trojans played Fareham & Crofton in a critical 'winner take all' Southern Premier League match at Bath Lane.

Fareham chased down a modest Trojans total of 178 to guarantee their own survival, but first they had to contain Donaldson, who sent down ten immaculate overs, conceding only 16 runs.

It was his 2,932nd and final over in Southern League cricket, delivered over a period of 350 or more matches - the fourth highest appearance tally in Trojans long history.

His 455 wicket haul is the sixth highest in the Southern Premier League and contains 11 five-fors. Donaldson's economy rate stands at an impressive 3.18.

"I recall one of those nap hand hauls - a spell of five wickets for four runs off 12 overs against a talented Portsmouth side," Le Bas remembered.

"Jamie was quite handy with the bat too, scoring over 4,000 runs - including one remarkable  157 not out at South Wilts in 2004.  We were 42-5 when he came in and ended up with 306!

Trojans begin their SPL3 programme at South Wilts on Saturday, 12.30pm.