Cult hero Elliott retires
More than two decades after his first-class cricket debut in South Africa, Black Caps cult hero Grant Elliott has hung up the boots for good.
Elliott, 39, confirmed his retirement on Instagram after captaining Birmingham Bears in the England Twenty20 Blast.
The Bears’ season ended at the weekend when they finished sixth in the North Group to miss the quarterfinals, after they were runners-up last year.
Elliott, best remembered for his six off South
Africa’s Dale Steyn to win the 2015
World Cup semifinal for New Zealand at Eden Park, retired from international cricket in March last year.
‘‘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,’’ Elliott wrote.
‘‘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 emerged into first-class cricket in South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2001 to further his cricket career with Canterbury then Wellington. He played five tests, 83 ODIS and 17 T20 internationals, the last of those for a World XI in Lahore, Pakistan, in September last year.