NEW DELHI: New Zealand great Kane Williamson on Friday announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtain down on one of the most distinguished careers in the country’s cricketing history.The 35-year-old’s decision marks the end of an era for New Zealand cricket, with Williamson stepping away from all international formats after more than 15 years at the highest level. The announcement comes a year after he had already decided to move on from T20 Internationals.Widely regarded as one of the finest batters of his generation, Williamson leaves the game as New Zealand’s highest run-scorer in international cricket. Across formats, he amassed 19,346 runs and established himself as the backbone of the Black Caps batting line-up for well over a decade.His greatest success came in Test cricket, where he scored more than 9,500 runs, including 33 centuries and six double hundreds.
Kane Williamson retires : Full statement
Yeah, it’s been a process. You know, when I look at what the team means to me and how I’ve gone about the game at the highest level for such a long period of time, it sort of dawned on me in the last few days that it felt like the time was right for me to step away and the other side of that is I see a group, a really, really talented group that have that journey ahead of them that are totally invested in wanting to do some special things with this New Zealand cricket team that I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have been a part of for such a long period of time and I just have so much respect for the New Zealand team, the Blackcaps, and so much respect for the game. And so it feels right to be making this decision today.Yeah, I was gonna say there’s probably a few parts to it. I think starting off as a youngster and having a dream to represent New Zealand at the highest level at the sport that I love and am extremely passionate about and that is the pathway in our country and it was for every young aspiring cricketer around the world to try and represent their country and play at the highest level and then quickly it becomes this pursuit, I think, where the international game is that platform where you’re forever challenged and you’re trying to be the best you can be every single day and that sort of strong focus, it was actually something I’m so grateful to have is this passion that I’ve been able to follow for so many years from a young cricketer right through to now and the Blackcaps team, it’s not just representing your country, which is special, but it’s a strong bond of a group of players that are trying to do something quite special together and so you’re in that space trying to make contributions and have some great experiences as a team and it’s been special and I’ve loved it.I’m really excited about the group and the people that I see in that dressing room and the depth of talent that we have.I see a journey ahead for them and I can’t wait to follow it and still offer if required, you know? And it’s a team that I love and it’s so dear to my heart and I’ve loved it the whole way through and I leave feeling the same way, you know? And they’re all extremely motivated to try and do that for this team and connect and have some of those experiences that I’ve been fortunate to have over the last 16 years.It’s funny, you sort of have moments of, I guess, highlights and successes and your ups and downs that you do remember but for me, probably, growing into leadership roles and really feeling like you’re a part of trying to take something to an improved place, a better place and I think it’s that journey that I’ve loved. It’s that sort of commitment to something that you see grow and it’s really quite satisfying and it shows up in some of those cool experiences or maybe the World Test Championship final or the general level of where the team’s got to, it’s like a thing you reflect on rather than just own a moment in time and go, that’s my highlight.It’s actually being across the board where you’ve given everything, you’ve seen the team take some really big steps in a good direction and I look at the team now and I see bigger steps ahead for them and I think they can achieve some pretty special things.Yeah, I’m not 100% sure but I’m looking forward to taking that step. I’ve got a young family and looking forward to spending a little bit more time there and seeing what’s next for me.
Kane Williamson’s career
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 110 | 9515 | 54.06 | 33 | 38 | 251 |
| ODI | 175 | 7257 | 48.38 | 15 | 47 | 148 |
| T20I | 93 | 2575 | 33.01 | 0 | 18 | 95 |
| Total | 378 | 19,347 | — | 48 | 103 | 251 |
