Kevin Mitchell Jr to step down as Gabba curator

Kevin Mitchell Jr, one of the Australia's renowned cricket curators, has announced that he will bid adieu to his illustrious career following this year's Ashes Test in November.

Mitchell, who started his career as assistant curator under his father and predecessor, Kevin Mitchell Sr in 1984, has spent the last 27 years in charge of the Gabba playing surface.

Lauding Mitchell's contribution as a curator, Gabba manager Blair Conaghan said that the former's work on the playing surface has been instrumental in bringing success to the venue.

"Kevvie Mitchell has meant so much to the Gabba and his work on the playing surface has really been instrumental in a lot of our success as a venue," ESPNcricinfo quoted Conaghan as saying.

"It's been a fantastic journey for him, from the days when it included the old greyhound track to its transformation into the more modern facility it is today and to consistently deliver over such a long period of time is an incredible achievement," he added.

Mitchell's departure marks the second retirement of an Australian Test curator this year, after long-serving Sydney Cricket Ground curator Tom Parker announced in June that he would step down from the position at the end of September.