Williamson ends New Zealand career during series with England

June 12, 2026 No Comments

NZ’s Williamson retires from international cricketImage source, PA MediaImage caption, Kane Williamson is one of only three players to score more than 15,000 international runs for New Zealand ByElizabeth BotcherbyBBC Sport journalistPublished12 June 2026, 11:13 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoFormer New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has retired from all international cricket with immediate effect.The 35-year-old featured in the first Test against England at Lord’s, registering a duck and 18, but will play no further part in the three-match series, which will resume at The Oval on 17 June.Williamson retires as New Zealand’s leading all-format run-scorer, with 19,346 runs, including 48 centuries and six double-hundreds, in 378 appearances between 2010 and 2026.As the Black Caps’ most prolific Test batter, he scored 9,515 runs at an average of 54.06, including 33 centuries, in 110 matches.Williamson captained New Zealand on 206 occasions between 2012 and 2024, leading the side through their golden period when they won the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021 and reached the finals of the 2019 World Cup and 2021 T20 World Cup. Explaining his decision, Williamson, who ended his T20I career in November, reported: “I’ve thought about it for a while, but over the last few days it’s become clear now is the right time.

“I’ve always felt a strong drive and hunger for international cricket, and I take pride in knowing I’ve given it my all in every match I’ve played for New Zealand.

“Continuing with anything less wouldn’t be right and I feel fortunate to step away on my own terms.

“I leave feeling optimistic about where this group is heading. There’s a huge amount of talent, and a real desire to do something special with this New Zealand team.

“It’s 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.”

Head coach Rob Walter paid tribute to Williamson’s “legacy” and impact on the Black Caps, stating he will “remain embedded in its DNA”.

“Anyone who’s had the privilege of working with Kane understands he is a very special player and person,” Walter reported.

“His numbers and batting skills speak for themselves, but it’s what he means to this Black Caps team, as well as world cricket – that will be his legacy.

“His impact on the culture and standards of this team will remain embedded in its DNA.

“Kane’s always put the team first and although we’re disappointed to see him go, we’re happy to know he’s content and at peace with his decision.

“An incredible player, awesome team-mate, a wonderful leader and a fantastic ambassador for our sport.”

Former New Zealand all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee described Williamson as a “wonderful player” and an “unflappable leader”, who was the “architect of some our of greatest moments in cricket”.

Modest, prolific, and the outlier in cricket’s ‘Fab Four’

Stephan Shemilt

Cricket Correspondent

Kane Williamson (centre) holds the silver and gold World Test Championship mace in his right hand and looks at it, smiling, with his teammates around him - all wearing cricket whites with New Zealand in capital letters on the chest, gold medals on black ribbons, and black caps with a white fern on the front — Image caption,

Kane Williamson (centre) was the only the second New Zealand men’s captain to lift silverware at a major ICC event

And so another one of the Fab Four exits the Test arena. Kane Williamson follows Virat Kohli in hanging up his whites, leaving only Joe Root and Steve Smith remaining.

With the landscape of the sport changing so quickly, it is not a stretch to wonder if such an era of Test batting will be replicated again.

Compared to the rest of the illustrious quartet, Williamson was an outlier. New Zealand do not play as many Tests as England, India or Australia. His career haul would have been much greater if he had the opportunities of the other three.

Only last week, in the days leading up to the first Test against England, Williamson reported he was “towards the back end” of his career, giving no indication that this decision was close.

When asked about the prospect of reaching 10,000 Test runs, he reported he was “not in the game” for personal milestones. “When the day comes, it comes,” were his words. Instead, Williamson ends an agonising 485 runs short.

If Martin Crowe is the godfather of New Zealand batting, then Williamson picked up the mantle and became the most prolific of all the Black Caps. Playing late with soft hands, Williamson’s ability to somehow guide any delivery to the third-man boundary appeared to defy geometry.

Incredibly modest, there was a famous moment at the end of the 2019 World Cup final, when Williamson endured the heartbreak of being the losing captain in perhaps the greatest game of cricket ever played. He was told he had been named player of the tournament and could not hide his disbelief.

Two years later, it was Williamson who led New Zealand to their redemption, when the Kiwis were crowned the inaugural world Test champions, with victory over India in Southampton.

Back to Lord’s, and the build-up to the first Test, ultimately Williamson’s last. In doing a round of media interviews, he reported he was being held up from getting his hands on a famous Lord’s lunch. When he finally was done with the press, Williamson was delayed further by a routine drugs test.

He never did get to sit down to that lunch and now there will be no more international runs, either.

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