BJ Watling, 35, has announced he will be retiring from all forms of international cricket after the England tour. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed in a media release on 11 May. He is likely to play his last game for his country in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India, starting 18 June.
Watling has been one of the most decorated wicketkeepers in Test cricket for more than a decade. Since making his debut in 2009, he has caught 249 batters behind the stumps (in addition to ten as a fielder) and stumped eight. His 257 dismissals are the most for New Zealand and the ninth-most in Test cricket history.
Watling’s batting statistics are astounding as well. In 73 Test matches, he has amassed 3,773 runs at 38.11. As a wicketkeeper, his numbers read 3,381 at 39.77, the fifth-best average while donning the gloves with a 3,000-run cut-off.
His highest score of 205 came against England at Bay Oval in November 2019. He forged a mammoth 261 runs with Mitchell Santner for the seventh wicket to help New Zealand win.
Watling has been featured in two of the most incredible Test partnerships in the New Zealand history – 362 with Brendon McCullum against India in 2013/14 and an unbroken 365 with Kane Williamson in 2014/15, both at Basin Reserve. He has 8 hundreds and 19 half-centuries so far in this format.
Alongside longer forms of cricket, Watling also played 28 ODIs and 5 T20Is for New Zealand. In the domestic arena, Watling has played largely for Northern Districts, representing them in 91 First-class matches, 90 List A matches, and 62 T20s.