Grant Elliott, who took New Zealand to their first WC final, bids goodbye to cricket

Former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott has decided to quit from all forms of cricket. The 39-year-old all-rounder left international cricket in March 2017 to sign the Kolpak deal to participate in England’s T20 Blast. He led Birmingham Bears to finish sixth in the championship but now has decided to hang up his boots from all forms of the game.

Eliott, whose heroics against South Africa in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup at home in 2015 saw the Kiwis making their first final of the quadrennial tournament.

A man who fulfilled his dreams

“Started in Johannesburg finished in Birmingham. I remember being 12 and writing down my life goals. To play in a World Cup, play international cricket and play county cricket. 27 years on and I have loved every minute of it,” the cricketer wrote on Instagram.

Started in Johannesburg finished in Birmingham. I remember being 12 and writing down my life goals. To play in a World Cup, play international cricket and play county cricket. 27 years on and I have loved every minute of it. Thanks to all the memorable people I have met that have made this journey special. To family and friends who have given me unwavering support despite all the sacrifices I have had to make that have impacted them. This game is a special one but it doesn’t define us. Looking forward to the future with great excitement and sharing a drink with those selfless players I shared a change room with.

A post shared by Grant Elliott (@grantelliottnz) on Aug 21, 2018 at 11:22am PDT

Right-hand batsman Elliott played five Tests, 83 ODIs and 17 T20Is for New Zealand between 2008 and 2017, scoring 86, 1,926 and 171 runs, respectively. His wicket tallies in Tests are 4, 39 and 14, respectively. He hit two international hundreds with the highest score being 115 against Australia in Sydney in 2009.

“Thanks to all the memorable people I have met that have made this journey special. To family and friends who have given me unwavering support despite all the sacrifices I have had to make that have impacted them.”

Born in Johannesburg, Elliott moved to New Zealand at the age of 22 and played 83 first-class games, 211 List A matches, and 150 T20s. He made his Test debut for New Zealand in a home series against England in 2008 and is remembered for his famous six off speedster Dale Steyn at Auckland that took his team to its maiden World Cup final three years ago. He remained 84 not out off 73 balls in that game and was adjudged the man of the series.

“This game is a special one but it doesn’t define us. Looking forward to the future with great excitement and sharing a drink with those selfless players I shared a change room with,” he said. The New Zealander’s performance in T20 Blast was mixed. While he scored 80 runs in 10 innings, he compensated it by picking 19 wickets from 14 matches to end up as his side’s highest wicket-taker.

Elliott played for different T20 franchises around the world after retiring from international cricket. He appeared for Chittagong Vikings in Bangladesh Premier League, Lahore Qalanders in Pakistan Super League and also took the field for the World XI team that travelled to Pakistan in 2017.

[interaction id=”5b7bcf103694ab27a230d868″]