It was with great sadness that I learned this week that Adrian Dale is to retire from first class cricket at the end of the season.

I will admit that it came as no great surprise either for ever since he was left out of the Championship side in May there has been a possibility that this might be his last season.

But what I can say is that Dale has approached the whole scenario with the greatest dignity - you would not expect anything different from such a decent bloke - as he has done with everything thrown at him during a first class career which began back in 1988.

He certainly had an early peek at the vicissitudes of professional cricket for his debut was at Bristol against Gloucestershire, a game during which Hugh Morris decided to give up the captaincy.

Ending a long, professional career can be a devilishly difficult business and in a way it was almost easier for me because my ending was forced upon me. I did not have to suffer the vacillation of when to finish.

There is always that worry of going on too long - and we have seen that from many other sportsmen, where the only memory left of them is one of a pale shadow of their former self.

But that will not be the case with Dale. Yes, his bowling may have lost some of its zip this season and his Championship batting form in early season was patchy but since then he has had little opportunity to show his talents.

Those who have seen him play some fine knocks in the second team say that he is batting as well as ever. But he has still played an integral part in Glamorgan's totesport League success. He will play on Sunday at Colwyn Bay and hopefully pick up another medal to add to his impressive collection which began when he was a member of the 1993 Axa Equity & Law winning side.

That would be some way to end - not that many professionals receive the send-off they desire - a botched press release in early February did for me.

And there is no doubt that Dale will be difficult to replace at Glamorgan. There is just no like-for-like replacement at the moment. Maybe Darren Thomas can fill his spot in one-day cricket, especially now that his batting is coming on so well. He did, after all, take apart Shane Warne last week.

And that is no exaggeration - for I was there at the Rose Bowl - because Warne just did not know where to bowl at the left hander during a quite brilliant century (bizarrely as twelfth man too, for he was only keeping a place warm for Simon Jones), his reverse sweeps in particular causing Warne no end of problems. Warne probably should have taken himself off earlier because he was suffering such heavy punishment but his ego prevented that.

But more likely is that Glamorgan need one of their youngsters, Ryan Watkins, Jonathan Hughes or Richard Grant to come through and fill Dale's boots. None of them has shown that they are capable yet - Hughes has got some runs in the Championship but his bowling has been neglected - but they all have potential and will now have the opportunity to go with it.

Dale's departure now means that only Matthew Maynard and Robert Croft are left of that side that triumphed in 1993; another stalwart of the most successful Glamorgan side ever (for that is what the side of the nineties surely was) gone.

Anyone who has read my book will know that in it I go into some detail about my relationship with Dale and the ramifications of my decision to strip him of the vice captaincy and instead opt for Croft.

It was a most uncomfortable period for me and one I still look back on with much regret because I know that it affected my close friendship with Dale. But at the time I made the decision because I felt it was the best thing for the team, even though as I have continually stressed, it was no reflection of Dale's ability to lead or be deputy.

He did both those admirably, and was unstinting in his support and loyalty. And again he handled the situation with great dignity - just as he has this season- there were no grumbles or criticism. That is just not in his make up. He is and always has been a model professional and one whom any young cricketer can look up to and whose standards one can aspire to. It has been suggested to me that I was harsh upon him in my book, especially concerning his ambitions to play for England.

The point I was making was that I thought he could have been good enough to play for England - which is a compliment in itself- and maybe lacked the belief and some ambition to do so.

Whatever, it was never my intention to denigrate his talents or attitude. I have always had the utmost respect for them and for him as a person- all of which many other Glamorgan players could take notice of and learn from.

He will be missed when he emigrates to New Zealand with his wife Ruth and two children, Jessica and Luke, not just at Glamorgan but in Chepstow as well, where he has been a tremendous servant to the cricket club, always playing whenever county commitments permitted and always playing with a passion which revealed his loyalty and dedication to his home town club.

So as I said, this Sunday will be a fitting finale (because I am pretty certain that Glamorgan will win) for him. I know that it is a long way up north but I reckon as many of you as possible should make the trek to see off 'Arthur', one of Gwent's and Glamorgan's cricketing finest. Sadness and elation could well collide but it will surely be memorable.