New Zealand and the West Indies faced each other today in the first of the five-match T20I series at Eden Park in Auckland. The Kiwis won the toss and opted to bowl first, even as Kane Williamson didn't feature in the playing XI, which surprised many. However, the veteran cricketer and former captain announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game last week on Sunday (November 2).
Moreover, he hadn't played for the BlackCaps since the end of the T20 World Cup 2024 as he also signed a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), avoiding playing a few matches in favour of T20 leagues. With the T20 World Cup coming in the next few months, there were calls for his return to the team for the home series against England.
He missed even that before eventually calling it a day from the format at the age of 35 after playing 93 matches and amassing 2575 runs at an average of 33.44 and a strike rate of 123.08 with 18 fifties to his credit.
Right time for me to, says Williamson
Kane Williamson, in his statement, stated that it was the perfect time for him to move on from the format citing there is a lot of talent in the country in the shortest format. "It's the right time for myself and the team. It gives the team clarity for the series moving forward and ahead of their next major focus which is the T20 World Cup. There's so much T20 talent there and the next period will be important to get cricket into these guys and get them ready for the World Cup," he said.
Playing XIs
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Robinson, Devon Conway(w), Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy
West Indies (Playing XI): Shai Hope(w/c), Alick Athanaze, Brandon King, Roston Chase, Ackeem Auguste, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales
More to follow...
