Proteas batter Mignon du Preez has announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket after a 15-year career.
South Africa’s 10-wicket T20 victory against Sri Lanka at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August proved to be Du Preez’s last appearance for her country.
Du Preez retired from Test and ODIs earlier in the year after taking part in the 2022 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.
“Fifteen years of international cricket, WOW, what a blessing it has been,” she said in a statement.
“It’s never an easy decision to step away from something you love as much as I love cricket, but I know in my heart that the time is right for me to announce my retirement from all forms of international cricket.
“However, I will still continue to play the shorter format of the game in the global leagues until such a time that I am blessed to become a mom and start a family of my own.
“To my teammates, thank you for all the memories that I can treasure for a lifetime. It was an honour to share the changeroom and field with each one of you. I will miss you all tremendously but can’t wait to follow your journeys to success and I will definitely be rooting for you from the sidelines in the future.
“I will definitely miss the changeroom chats, the off-field friendships from all around the globe, travelling and learning about different cultures. However, I am extremely excited about the next phase of my life together with the ones that I love dearly and that have taken a back seat during the last 15 years of my career.
“My cricketing journey has been nothing short of a crazy rollercoaster ride with all the ups and downs, but oh boy, it was one hell of a ride and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world … To the cricket world, this is not goodbye, it’s just see you later! Lots of love and endless smiles.”
The Tshwane-born star broke into the Proteas T20I set-up in August 2007, seven months after making her SA debut as a 17-year-old in ODI cricket.
The now 33-year-old has played in 114 T20Is, scoring 1,805 runs at an average of 20.98, including seven half-centuries and a highest score of 69 against Ireland in Solihull, 2014.
In that period, Du Preez also represented South Africa in a staggering seven Women’s T20 World Cups since the inaugural edition in 2009.
After being appointed the full-time national captain in 2011, the experienced batter wore the proverbial armband on 50 occasions – a Proteas Women record.
When it comes to the shorter format, “Minx” as she is affectionally known, enjoyed her best season, statistically, in 2014 where she helped South Africa qualify for their first-ever T20 World Cup semi-final in Bangladesh.
Du Preez ended that year with 369 runs from 20 matches, scoring at 24.60 with a strike rate of 91.56.
The Titans stalwart was also a member of the Proteas squad that secured a second T20 World Cup semi-final appearance, in Australia in 2020.
