Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor announces retirement from international cricket
Zimbabwe’s wicketkeeper-batter Brendan Taylor has decided to call time on his international career and has announced that Zimbabwe’s upcoming third ODI against Ireland (on September 13) will be his final game.
Taylor, who debuted in 2004, will end as the fourth-highest Test run-scorer for Zimbabwe, having represented them in 34 Tests, scoring 2320 runs including six centuries, while in 45 T20Is, he has 934 runs at a strike rate of 118.22, with six half-centuries.
However, it is the One Day format Taylor loved best, where he has 6677 runs from 204 matches, only 110 short of Andy Flower’s – the current highest-scorer in the format – tally. Although, no one has scored more ODI centuries for Zimbabwe than Taylor’s 11.
The 34-year-old announced his retirement on Instagram on Sunday. “It’s with a heavy heart that I’m announcing that tomorrow is my last game for my beloved country,” Taylor wrote. “17 year’s of extreme highs and extreme lows and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
I have made our country proud in some small way: Brendan Taylor
Forever grateful for the journey. Thank you 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tOsYzoE5eH
— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanTaylor86) September 12, 2021
Taylor’s 49 in the opening game of the series helped Zimbabwe gain a 1-0 lead over Ireland before rain spoilt the second fixture. Walking into his last encounter, he would want to deliver one final time, as he did many times in red over the last 17 years.
