Johannesburg, April 7: Former South Africa women’s cricket team captain Mignon du Preez on Thursday announced her retirement from One-Day International as well as Test cricket with immediate effect. The 32-year-old made her international debut in 2007 as a teenager and went on to don the green and gold in 154 ODI matches, including a ground-breaking reign as captain in 46 ODIs, where the team also transitioned into a fully contracted outfit. She also played one Test for Proteas against India in 2014 and captained the team across all formats between 2011 and 2016.
Preez ended her 50-over career as South Africa’s leading run-scorer with 3,760 runs at an average of 32.98, with 18 half-centuries and two centuries, including a high score of 116 not out against Ireland in 2016. In the recently concluded ICC World Cup, Du Preez notched up her 150th appearance against New Zealand and scored her last 50 in ODI cricket.
In a statement, Preez said: “I feel the time is right to announce my retirement from the longer format of the game and focus my attention on T20 cricket going forward. Thus, I decided to retire from ODI cricket at the completion of our recent World Cup in New Zealand. “I feel South African women’s cricket is in a very healthy state and the time is right to step away and allow the next generation of exciting cricketers to continue to grow this beautiful game of ours.”
UNI
