NEW ZEALAND GREAT KANE WILLIAMSON RETIRES

Kane Williamson captained New Zealand in 206 of his 378 matches across the formats.

- BY ANKIT SHARMA

Under his leadership, the Black Caps enjoyed a golden period from 2016-24 when they won the inaugural World Test championship in 2021...

Kane Williamson put the New Zealand team first to the very end. Despite being in mid-series in England, with one test down and two to come, Williamson retired from all international cricket with immediate effect. The 35-year-old scored 0 and 18 against England in the test loss at Lord's last week and dropped himself out of the rest of the series.

“I've thought about it for a while, but over the last few days it's become clear now is the right time,” he said.

The all-time great bows out as New Zealand's leading run-scorer in tests, men's ODI World Cups and T20 World Cups and across all three formats since his debut in 2010. He scored 19,346 runs, including 48 centuries, across the formats. In tests, he produced 9,515 runs at an average of 54.06, 33 centuries, including on debut against India in Ahmedabad, plus six double centuries. His highest was 251 against the West Indies in 2020.