BJ Watling: "It's been an
enormous honor to represent New Zealand and especially wear the Test baggy.
Test cricket really is that the top of the game and that I have loved every
minute of being out there within the whites with the boys."
New Zealand's most successful test
wicketkeeper BJ Watling will retire from all sorts of cricket after their upcoming tour of England, the country's cricket board (NZC) has confirmed.
Watling has been an integral a part
of New Zealand's Test team since debuting in 2009 and holds the Black Caps'
record for Test dismissals with 249 catches (excluding 10 as a fielder) and
eight stumpings.
The 35-year-old, who also
represented New Zealand in 28 one-day internationals and five Twenty20s, said
the time had come to carry up his gloves as he looks forward to spending more
time with his family.
"It's been an enormous honor
to represent New Zealand and especially wear the Test baggy," Watling
said.
"Test cricket really is that
the pinnacle of the sport and I have loved every minute of being out there
within the whites with the boys.
"I've played with some great
players and made many good mates. I've also had much help along the way that
I'll always be grateful.
"Although I've had to make
this announcement ahead of the tour to England, my focus is very much on the
three Tests ahead and preparing to perform in them."
With the bat, Watling has scored
3,773 runs in 73 tests at 38.11 with eight hundred and 19 half-centuries,
together with his highest score of 205 coming against England at Mt Maunganui
in 2019.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead paid
tribute to Watling's grit and determination that helped him forge a career
together of the country's finest glovemen.
"The records represent
themselves and he's been such an important cog within the Test teams rise over
the past decade," Stead said.
"The attitude and fight he brings to each day and each session of a Test is what has made him such a valued member of the Black Caps."
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