New Zealander Grant Elliott had a different reason for quitting cricket

For former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott, who recently decided to call it a day, the reason for doing so is a bit unusual. The 39-year-old cricketer bid adieu to the game on Wednesday, August 22, after leading the Birmingham Bears to a sixth place finish in the England Twenty20 Blast. Born in South Africa, Elliott later moved to New Zealand to represent them in international cricket between 2008 and 2017.

Elliott’s highest point in career came in the semi-final of the 2015 ICC World Cup at home when he blasted 84 not out off 73 balls against the Proteas to take New Zealand to their first-ever final of the mega tournament.

But what makes Elliott’s retirement a bit different? The man revealed during his talk to Radio Hauraki’s the Matt & Jerry Show that he quit since he didn’t have anyone with whom he could have a beer, according to a report in New Zealand Herald.

A generation gap in changing room

“I must admit, you wake up and you’ve got that passion to play, and that’s sort of left me a little bit. You also look around the changing room and you’re like, ‘how many of these guys are actually gonna have a beer with me tonight?’. Not because I don’t like them, [but] the lads are different. They’ve grown up a little bit differently to how I grew up. I was told [back in the day] if I didn’t drink they wouldn’t trust me,” Elliott said.

The former cricketer, who has over 2,200 runs in 105 games across all the three formats in international cricket, joked that the game has become too professional though he himself still loves to have a good time.

“I think everyone will tell you that I really enjoyed myself off the park as much as I did on the park. Every now and then, I needed a bit of a blowout and needed to let my hair down. And that hasn’t changed the whole way through,” the 39-year-old added.

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