Kane Williamson Retires from International Cricket

Kane Williamson retired from all international cricket with immediate effect on 12 June 2026, announcing his decision after the first Test of New Zealand's three-match series against England at Lord's, where he scored 0 and 18 in a losing effort. The 35-year-old finishes as New Zealand's all-time leading international run-scorer with 19,346 runs, 48 centuries and six double-centuries across 378 appearances, including 9,515 Test runs at an average of 54.06 in 110 matches. As captain in 206 matches across formats, Williamson led New Zealand through a golden era that included winning the inaugural ICC World Test Championship in 2021, reaching the 2019 ODI World Cup final — where he was named Player of the Tournament — and the 2021 T20 World Cup final. Williamson had not held a central contract with New Zealand Cricket since 2024 and had been selecting series on a case-by-case basis while pursuing franchise cricket commitments. He was non-committal about future domestic or franchise involvement, saying he would "cross that bridge" when it came. Tributes poured in from coach Rob Walter, former great Sir Richard Hadlee, and fellow Fab Four member Virat Kohli, who described Williamson as having gone "from an opponent to a friend." His retirement leaves Joe Root and Steve Smith as the only remaining active Test players from cricket's celebrated modern Fab Four.