DURBAN: South African pacer Morne Morkel announced to take retirement from all formats of international cricket, and the Test series with Australia will be his last.
Talking to media in Durban, the 33-year-old said, “It was an extremely tough decision but I feel the time is right to start a new chapter.”
“The current demanding international schedule has put a lot of strain. I have to put them (family) first and this decision will only benefit us going forward,” he added.
The tall paceman has played in 83 Tests, 117 one-day internationals and 44 Twenty20 internationals. He will now end his international career after fourth Test match between South Africa and Australia that ends on April 3 in Johannesburg.
Morkel has taken 294 Test wickets – being the fifth overall for Proteas – and his tally across all formats is 529, ranking among the ICC’s top 10 bowlers in all formats at some stage of his career. He was the number 1 in ODIs during 2011.
His decision means he will not be available for the World Cup in England next year.
There were reports last year that Morkel was contemplating playing county cricket in England under the Kolpak regulation, which would make him ineligible for national selection.
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