New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hailed Kane Williamson as “one of the greatest Blackcaps of all time” after the batting great announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtain down on a glittering 16-year career that transformed him into New Zealand’s highest run-scorer across formats.

“Kane Williamson will always be considered one of the greatest Blackcaps of all time. Not only because of his remarkable skill – scoring the most runs for New Zealand in international cricket – but for how he carried himself his whole career. He is a total class act. A humble kid from the Bay of Plenty who went on to become one of the best cricketers in the history of the game. Congratulations on an incredible career Kane. You’ve done yourself, your family and your country proud,” NZ PM Christopher Luxon posted on X.

Williamson, 35, bowed out of the international arena on Friday following a career where he established himself as one of the finest batsmen of his generation and the most respected name in global cricket.

New Zealand’s highest-scoring batsman in international cricket, Williamson finished his career with 19,346 runs from 378 matches, scoring 48 centuries and six double hundreds. His career consisted of 9,515 runs in 110 Tests, 7,256 runs in 174 ODI and 2,575 in 93 T20Is.

Arguably one of the greatest players to ever pull on the Black Caps jersey, he also experienced great success as a leader. The 35-year-old captained across all formats from 2016 to 2024, leading the side to two Cricket World Cup finals, three Cricket World Cup semi-finals and New Zealand’s first ever World Test Championship title in 2021.

Individual accolades flowed during an era of consistent dominance and excellence, including the ICC Cricketer of the Year award in 2015 and the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award in 2019. Williamson also won New Zealand Cricket’s Sir Richard Hadlee Medal on four occasions, more than any other player.

His retirement means Williamson will not feature for New Zealand in the current Test series against England in which the Black Caps trail 1-0, with team management expected to name a replacement in due course.

–IANS

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