New Zealand’s right-arm pacer Hamish Bennett says goodbye to his 17-year long professional career, stating that he would be playing 2021-22 as his last season.
The 35-year-old Bennett has made 31 appearances for the New Zealand cricket team across all the three formats and most recently in the T20Is against Bangladesh in September last year.
New Zealand’s right-arm pacer Hamish Bennett says goodbye to his 17-year long professional career, stating that he would be playing 2021-22 as his last season.
Incidentally, Bennett made his International debut against the same opponents in an ODI match in 2010. Meanwhile, he played the only Test match against India in Ahmadabad, which also marked the Test debut of the current New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.
Hamish Bennett was picked up in the 2011 World Cup but then removed from the squad following a lower-back injury which took him to undergo surgery in the same year.
While the injury may have ended his career for New Zealand, he became a key member of the Canterbury and Wellington sides, the latter being the domestic side he switched to in 2016.
Overall, Bennett made himself appeared in 265 domestic matches since debuting in 2005, amassing 489 wickets. In that time he won 12 domestic titles including five Plunket Shields, two Ford Trophy titles, four men’s Super Smash titles, and a women’s Super Smash title as Wellington Blaze’s bowling coach.
“When I started as a young kid bowling in the nets in Timaru, I never dreamed I would have gone on to enjoy the career that I’ve had,”
Bennett said.
“From Old Boys Timaru Cricket Club, who got me involved in cricket at the start, Timaru Boys’ High School, South Canterbury Cricket, Canterbury Cricket, Cricket Wellington, and New Zealand Cricket, as well as all the other great clubs I’ve played for down the years, they’ve all played a role in helping me achieve my cricket dream.
“Men’s and women’s cricket in New Zealand is in an exciting place, so I’m looking forward to putting the feet up and watching the game grow from the sidelines,”
said Bennett.
“I’ve been so fortunate to work and play alongside so many great players, captains, and coaches and I’d like to thank every one of them for their support over the years. It’s been an honor to represent my family and my country for New Zealand and those memories and experiences will be ones that I cherish and tell stories about for the rest of my life.”