NEWS
Follow UsFormer New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner has decided to hang up his boots from international cricket after he was left out of the squad for the series against Australia that starts in Wellington on February 29, 2024 (Thursday). In his 12-year career, Wagner was one of the fulcrums of the New Zealand side, helping them win the the inaugural World Test Championship as the biggest achievement of his international career.
"I knew the time was coming near. They sometimes say when you think about retirement, you're screwed in a way. I knew the time was going to come and it was going to come close. In the last week, reflecting and looking into the future, looking at the Test matches that are to come, I thought it was the right time to step down and let the other guys come in and do what we've been doing as a group for a number of years and obviously grow that attack,” Wagner said in a press conference in Wellington.
"It's never easy. It's an emotional road. It's a big rollercoaster. But it's something that I feel like the time has come to pass that baton on and leave that Black Cap in a good place for the rest to take it and hopefully grow their legacy forward."
Born in South Africa, Wagner moved to Dunedin back in 2008 and went on to play 64 Tests for the Kiwi nation. He ended up with 260 wickets at 27.57 with a strike rate of just 52.7 - which puts him as one of New Zealand’s all-time greats. As a matter of fact and something that Wagner would truly be proud of that, only Sir Richard Hadlee has a better Test strike rate among New Zealand bowlers to have taken more than 100 wickets.
"I wasn't going to be down here. I think it's a very nice way for the team... they invited me to come down here and spend this time with them to celebrate it but also help them prepare for the series to get stuck in against Australia and it was a really nice, kind gesture,” Wagner said.
"And I thought it'd be a nice way to bow out, doing what I've always been doing, to come here, be here with the team, do everything with a smile on my face and service the lads. That's just who I am. And it's a pretty nice gesture and I'm really, extremely grateful to be here and that the team and everyone and Gary has asked me to do this."
In his prime, he was considered one of the best practitioners of short bowling, bringing New Zealand back into the game on dead pitches. His ability to bend the back made him such a vital member that Kane Williamson always banked upon him to do the dirty job. Originally he was included in the Test squad, but when he was informed that being in the playing XI was not possible, Wagner decided to take the difficult decision.
"Very, very tough conversations to have. Neil understood. As he said, he was very grateful for his time in the Black Cap which I think is enormously big of him as well. I think it's taken a bit of time for Neil just to work out what this means for him as well and it's not retiring from everything. He's still available for domestic cricket, just retiring from international cricket. But they're incredibly tough conversations. Especially with the calibre of the guy that's next to me as well and everything he's done for the team,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said in a press conference in Wellington.
