Kane Williamson retires from international cricket after a record-laden New Zealand career
Kane Williamson has called time on a 16-year international career, retiring mid-tour in England as New Zealand’s most prolific batter across all three formats.
Jun 14, 2026
Kane Williamson has retired from international cricket with immediate effect, walking away from the game this weekend in the middle of New Zealand’s Test series in England. At 35, the country’s greatest batter leaves as its all-time leading run-scorer across formats, closing a career that ran for 16 years.
The decision came only days after he played the first Test at Lord’s, and it ends any chance of seeing him reach the milestones still within touching distance. Williamson said the timing simply felt right. “I’ve thought about it for a while, but over the last few days it’s become clear now is the right time,” he said.
A career that rewrote New Zealand’s record books
Williamson finishes with 19,346 runs in international cricket, more than any New Zealander before him. The bulk came in the format where he made his biggest mark. He scored 9,515 Test runs in 110 matches at an average of 54.06, with 33 centuries, more than any other New Zealander, along with 38 fifties. Six of those hundreds were doubles.
His white-ball numbers were nearly as commanding. He made 7,256 ODI runs across 175 games and another 2,575 in T20 internationals, leaving him among New Zealand’s most prolific batters in every form of the sport. For most of the past decade he was spoken of alongside Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steve Smith as one of the era’s defining batters, the understated member of a celebrated quartet.
The World Test Championship crown
For all the personal milestones, his defining achievement came as a leader. Williamson captained New Zealand to the inaugural World Test Championship title in 2021, beating India in the final to give the country its first global crown in the longest format. He led the side in 40 Tests, winning 22, and also took charge in 91 ODIs and 75 T20Is across an eight-year spell as captain.
He carried that responsibility without ever losing the calm that defined his batting. Black Caps head coach Rob Walter, who worked with him only briefly, said it had been a privilege. “Although it’s been short-lived, it’s been a real privilege to watch him go about his work and listen to his thoughts and views on the team and the game itself,” Walter said.
A quiet farewell at Lord’s
The ending was understated, which felt fitting. Williamson managed just 18 runs across his two innings in what turned out to be his final Test, falling lbw to Josh Tongue as New Zealand slipped to defeat at Lord’s. He finishes on 9,515 Test runs, short of the 10,000-run mark in the format, and chose not to chase it through the rest of the series.
New Zealand have called up Will Young for the remaining two Tests against England, the next of them at The Oval. They move on without the batter who set nearly every standard the team now measures itself against. Williamson leaves on his own terms, with the same lack of fuss that marked everything he did at the crease.