Stephen Fleming to retire

Stephen Fleming today announced that he will retire from Test cricket at the end of The National Bank Series against England.

“I always indicated that I was likely to retire from international cricket at some point in the near future and the time is right for me and my family to do that now,” he said.

“Retiring before the tour to England will allow me to be with Kelly for the birth of our second child and I am excited about pursuing new business opportunities,” Fleming said.

“A key business opportunity I will be pursuing is the establishment of a marketing, media and sports management business here in New Zealand. I have been given this opportunity by some supportive partners and I am keen to test whether I have the abilities to establish a successful career in business.

“I will also be taking up the option of playing in the Indian Premier League. It is an exciting opportunity and one that I will be pursuing with the full support of New Zealand Cricket.

“The IPL only takes a short amount of my time each year, and allows me to continue pursuing my new endeavours outside of the game.”

NZC CEO Justin Vaughan paid tribute to Fleming’s career describing him as a great captain and player.

“Stephen’s presence and leadership qualities had a tremendous impact on the team and he will be missed by New Zealand Cricket and the BLACKCAPS. He has made a huge contribution to cricket in New Zealand and I sincerely wish him all the best.

“I’m sure we have not seen the last of him and we are working to ensure that he has a role within cricket in New Zealand in the future,” he said.

BLACKCAPS career milestones
BLACKCAPS career statistics108 Test matches (80 as captain)
6875 runs; 
166 catches
279 ODIs for BLACKCAPS (218 as captain)
8007 runs; 
132 catches; 
one wicket

1994
BLACKCAPS Test debut v India at Hamilton
Makes 92 in second innings (BLACKCAP No. 188)
Makes 90 on ODI debut also v India, at Napier(ODI Cap No. 112)

1996
First ODI century (106 not out, v West Indies,Port of Spain)

1997
First Test century (129, v England, Auckland)
Becomes BLACKCAPS captain(First Test as captain:v England, Christchurch; 
First ODI: v Sri Lanka,Christchurch)

1998
New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year
Led New Zealand to bronze in Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur

1999
Captains BLACKCAPS to Test series win inEngland

2000
Captains BLACKCAPS to ICC Knockout Cupvictory, Kenya

2003
Highest ODI score (134 not out, v South Africa,Johannesburg, World Cup)
Highest Test score (274 not out, v Sri Lanka,Colombo)
New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year

2004
New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the YearBecomes BLACKCAPS highest Test run scorer(v Bangladesh, Chittagong)

2005
Represented ICC World XI v Asian XI inMelbourne

2006
First BLACKCAP to appear in 100 Tests(v South Africa, Centurion)

2007
Plays 280th ODI (279th for BLACKCAPS), WorldCup semi-final v Sri Lanka, Kingston