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Cricket

“Fifteen years of international cricket, what a blessing it has been,” says Mignon Du Preez on her retirement

Mignon Du Preez, the former South African women’s captain, has retired from international cricket.

Du Preez, regarded as one of South Africa’s all-time biggest stars of women’s cricket, announced her departure after 15 years.

She played 154 One Day Internationals and 114 Twenty20 matches for South Africa, as well as one Test match in 2014. It ended du Preez’s career, which had lasted nearly 16 years. The Protoria-born hitter will, however, continue to play in international T20 tournaments throughout the world.

“Fifteen years of international cricket, WOW, what a blessing it has been. It’s never an easy decision to step away from something you love as much as I love cricket, but I know in my heart that the time is right for me to announce my retirement from all forms of international cricket,” du Preez told reporters. “However, I will still continue to play the shorter format of the game in the global leagues until such a time that I am blessed to become a mom and start a family of my own,” she added.

“I will definitely miss the change-room chats, the off-field friendships from all around the globe, travelling and learning about different cultures. However, I am extremely excited about the next phase of my life together with the ones that I love dearly and that have taken a back seat during the last 15 years of my career,” she also explained.

Du Preez got her international debut at the age of 17 in 2007. She has played South Africa in seven ICC Women’s T20 World Cups and four ODI World Cups since then.

Du Preez retires after 268 international appearances, 5,565 runs (including 25 fifties and three hundreds) in Test, ODI, and T20 cricket, and 96 appearances as captain.

Enoch Nkwe, Director of Cricket for Cricket South Africa, said it was a bittersweet occasion, adding that her loyalty and passionate team-first nature will be dearly missed.

Du Preez last played for South Africa in a T20I versus Sri Lanka Women at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022.

“This is a bittersweet moment for South African cricket and the world at large as we bid farewell to one of the game’s favourite characters on the international stage,” Enoch Nkwe, CSA’s director of cricket stated. “Over the last 16 years, du Preez’s professionalism and commitment shown towards her country has been exemplary… Her devoted, passionate team-first personality will be sorely missed, and I wish her the very best with the rest of her career and life after the game,” he concluded.
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