Stewart ready for farewell

Stewart will bid farewell to Test cricket at his home ground

Alec Stewart insists his desire to succeed is undimmed as he approaches the final Test of his career.

The 40-year-old wicket-keeper begins his 133rd Test - more than any other England player - at his home ground The Oval against South Africa on Thursday.

"As far as I'm concerned I've not lost the edge or the desire because if I had, the way I am, I'd have packed it in," said Stewart.

"You will still see me preparing exactly the same way for this game and the previous four games as I did for the previous 120-odd.

"I've always been one who has left nothing to chance. As far as I'm concerned I've done everything possible to succeed in this series."

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Many observers believe Stewart would have scored more than his 8425 runs - at a respectable average of 39.55 - had he not kept wicket for the majority of his career.

He has scored only 144 runs in seven innings this series and has registered only one century in his last 54 Test innings - figures which would suggest his abilities are on the wane.

"I'd rather have scored more runs - you can never score too many," he conceded. "But I honestly don't feel I've lost that edge."

Stewart said he will take six weeks after the match ends to decide whether to continue his career at county level with Surrey or to work full-time in the media and the hospitality business.

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The emergence of Jonathan Batty as his understudy at Surrey leaves the club with a tough decision whether to offer Stewart a new contract when his England deal expires.

"All I've known since I left school is playing cricket so moving into a new career is a challenge for me and I have to weigh all that up," Stewart added.

"I've got to work out if just playing county cricket without the bonus of playing international cricket is worth it and I've got to ask myself why am I still playing?"

"I think I will miss the challenge of playing with and against the very best players and going out in front of 30,000 people and trying to perform and putting yourself on the line.

"That's probably why I'm still playing at the age of 40 because I actually enjoy doing that and I enjoy that challenge. When that's gone that will possibly be the one thing I will miss."