New Zealand quick Hamish Bennett has called time on his 17-year-old professional career, stating that the 2021-22 season would be his last. The 35-year-old Bennett has made 31 appearances for the Black Caps across all three formats and most recently featured in the T20Is versus Bangladesh last September. Bennett had made his international debut against the same opponents in an ODI in 2010 and followed that up with his lone Test match appearance in Ahmedabad against India, which also marked the Test debut of current New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. Bennett was picked for the 2011 World Cup but was sidelined thereafter with a lower-back injury which eventually required him to undergo a major surgery the following year.
While the injury may have curtailed his New Zealand career, he remained a key member of Canterbury and Wellington sides, the latter being the domestic side he switched to in 2016. “I’ve been so fortunate to work and play alongside so many great players, captains and coaches and I’d like to thank every one of them for their support over the years. “Men’s and women’s cricket in New Zealand is in an exciting place, so I’m looking forward to putting the feet up and watching the game grow from the sidelines. “It’s been an honour to represent my family and my country for New Zealand and those memories and experiences will be ones that I cherish and tell stories about for the rest of my life," Bennett said. He currently plays for Wellington in New Zealand's domestic cricket, had made his first-class debut for Canterbury in 2005.“When I started out as a young kid bowling in the nets in Timaru, I never dreamed I would have gone on to enjoy the career that I’ve had,” Bennett said. In all, Bennett made 265 domestic appearances since debuting in 2005, amassing 489 wickets. In that time he won 12 domestic titles including five Plunket Shields, two Ford Trophy titles, four men's Super Smash titles and a women's Super Smash title as Wellington Blaze's bowling coach.
