New Zealand\u2019s\u00a0most prolific all-format run scorer and arguably greatest ever batsman Kane Williamson has confirmed his retirement from international cricket effective immediately.<\/p>\n
Williamson\u2019s announcement brings an end to a glittering 16-year international career that has seen him play 378 games for his country, setting countless batting records and earning the respect and admiration of the cricketing world.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old finishes as New Zealand\u2019s all-time leading international\u00a0run-scorer with 19,346 runs, including 48 centuries and six double-centuries.<\/p>\n
Alongside his world class numbers, Williamson\u2019s captaincy and leadership style was much admired, as he led the BLACKCAPS in all three formats during a golden period from 2016-2024, where they made two ICC World Cup Finals, three semi-finals, and won the inaugural ICC World Test Championship in 2021.<\/p>\n
After making his BLACKCAPS debut in 2010 and retiring from T20Is in November, Williamson said the time was now right to fully step away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve thought about it for a while, but over the last few days it\u2019s become clear now is the right time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always felt a strong drive and hunger for international cricket, and I take pride in knowing I\u2019ve given it my all in every match I\u2019ve played for New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinuing with anything less wouldn\u2019t be right and I feel fortunate to step away on my own terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI leave feeling optimistic about where this group is heading. There\u2019s a huge amount of talent, and a real desire to do something special with this New Zealand team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a team I love, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of it for so long. It will continue to be dear to my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
BLACKCAPS coach Rob Walter said he had nothing but respect and admiration for Williamson.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who\u2019s had the privilege of working with Kane understands he is a very special player and person.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough it\u2019s been short-lived, it\u2019s been a real privilege to watch him go about his work and listen to his thoughts and views on the team and the game itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis numbers and batting skills speak for themselves, but it\u2019s what he means to this BLACKCAPS team, as well as world cricket – that will be his legacy.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cHis impact on the culture and standards of this team will remain embedded in its DNA.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cKane\u2019s always put the team first and although we\u2019re disappointed to see him go, we\u2019re happy to know he\u2019s content and at peace with his decision.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAn incredible player, awesome teammate, a wonderful leader and a fantastic ambassador for our sport.”<\/p>\n
Williamson\u2019s list of accolades is immense, including being named the ICC Cricketer of 2015 and Test player of 2019, while also winning the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal on a record four occasions.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Hadlee himself reserved special praise for the retiring BLACKCAP.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cKane\u2019s been a wonderful player and has been a fine leader,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cHe’s demonstrated a willingness to continually advance his game to the highest level in all three formats and he rightfully finishes as one of the best players of his era.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThe way he prepared himself physically and mentally was perhaps the most impressive part. He was always committed to working hard and developing his technique to ensure he was ready to be a world class player.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s been an unflappable leader and the architect of some of our greatest moments in cricket.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI commend him and thank him for everything he has contributed to cricket and wish him a happy retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williamson\u2019s retirement means he will play no further part in the BLACKCAPS current Test series in England, with a replacement player to be confirmed in due course.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kane Williamson\u00a0– New Zealand men\u2019s records<\/p>\n
Most international runs (19,346)
\nMost international centuries (48)
\nMost international double-centuries (6)
\nSixth most international appearances (378)
\nMost Test runs (9,515)
\nMost Test centuries (33)
\nThird most Test appearances (110)\u00a0
\nFourth most ODI runs (7,256)
\nFourth most ODI centuries (14)
\nSecond most T20I runs (2575)
\nHighest Test average 54.06 (min 20 games)
\nSecond highest ODI average 48.69\u00a0(min 20 games)
\nThird highest T20I average 33 (min 5 games)
\nFourth most international catches (217)
\nEqual most test wins (47), with Tom Latham and Tim Southee
\nFirst to score centuries in four consecutive Test matches<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Captaincy record<\/p>\n
40 Tests – 22 wins, 10 losses & 8 draws (2nd most behind Stephen Fleming – 28 wins from 80 Tests)
\n91 ODIs – 46 wins, 40 losses, 1 tie, 4 NR (2nd behind Stephen Fleming – 98 wins from 218 ODIs)
\n75 T20Is – 39 wins, 34 losses, 1 tie, 1 NR (most by a NZ captain)
\n2016 ICC T20 World Cup semi-final in India
\n2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Final in England
\n2021 ICC World Test Championship Final in England – win
\n2021 ICC T20 World Cup Final in UAE
\n2022 ICC T20 World Cup semi-final in Australia
\n2023 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final in India<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other records and accolades\u00a0<\/p>\n
2019 ICC Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup Player of the Tournament
\n2019 ICC Test Player of the Year
\n2018 ICC Spirit of Cricket Award
\nIn 2016, he became the fastest and youngest player\u00a0in history to score centuries against all major Test-playing nations
\n2015 Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
\nSir Richard Hadlee Medal – 2015-16, 2016-17, 2019 and 2020
\nScored a century on Test debut v India Ahmedabad 2010<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Zealand\u2019s\u00a0most prolific all-format run scorer and arguably greatest ever batsman Kane Williamson has confirmed his retirement from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-731792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}