Black Caps blaster retires from international cricket

One of the most exciting and destructive batters to don the Black Cap has decided he will don it no longer.

Colin Munro has announced his retirement from international cricket, officially calling time on an international career that spanned 123 matches.

The explosive left-hander, who last featured for the Black Caps in the fifth T20I against India at Bay Oval in 2020, represented New Zealand in 65 T20Is, 57 ODIs and a single test, scoring more than 3,000 international runs and taking seven wickets.

Munro ends his international career as the Black Caps’ current sixth all-time leading T20 international run scorer with 1,724 runs at an average of 31 and a strike-rate of 156.4, including three T20 international centuries, the most by any New Zealander.

A proud product of the Auckland Cricket pathway, Munro represented New Zealand at the 2006 ICC Under 19 World Cup in Sri Lanka before making his international debut in all three formats on the 2012-13 tour of South Africa.

He would go on to excel in the white ball formats and was a key member of the Black Caps T20 and ODI teams between 2016 and 2019 and featured at the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups and the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.

A big-hitting top order batter, Munro eclipsed numerous records during his time on the international stage.

His 47-ball century against West Indies at Bay Oval in 2018 was the fastest ever T20 century for New Zealand at the time and saw him become the first player to score three T20 international centuries.

His 14-ball half-century against Sri Lanka at Eden Park in 2016 is still the fastest T20 half-century by a New Zealander and the fourth fastest of all-time.

Munro expressed his pride in representing New Zealand on the world stage and said now was the right time to officially bring his international career to an end.

“Playing for the Black Caps has always been the biggest achievement in my playing career,” he said.

“I never felt prouder than donning that jersey, and the fact that I’ve been able to do that 123 times across all formats is something I will always be incredibly proud of.

“Although it has been a while since my last appearance, I never gave up hope that I might be able to return off the back of my franchise T20 form.

“With the announcement of the Black Caps squad for the T20 World Cup, now is the perfect time to close that chapter officially.”

Among his many achievements on the international stage, Munro cited the team’s run to the 2019 World Cup final in England and sharing the experience with his family and teammates as his favourite highlight during his career in the Black Cap.

NZC chief executive Scott Weenink said Munro would be remembered as one of New Zealand’s best multi-format batsman.

“Colin was one of our first players to embrace the aggressive, 360-degree style batting that is now accepted all around the world as best practice,” said Weenink.

“He was one of the pioneers of the new game, an innovative batsman who took calculated risk-taking to a new level, and led what was to become a revolution in the way short-form cricket was played.

“We thank him for his amazing contribution in more than 100 international games, and wish him well in his future pursuits.”

While his international career has now officially come to an end, Munro will continue to play franchise cricket around the world.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission