The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Scotland cricket captain Preston Mommsen retires aged 29
Preston Mommsen looks to new fields after winning 127 caps
Scotland captain Preston Mommsen has announced his retirement from international cricket in order to pursue a new career opportunity away from the sport.
The South African-born Mommsen qualified to play for Scotland in 2010 after completing a four-year qualification period. He went on to earn 127 caps, including 42 one-day and 24 Twenty20 international appearances.
He was one of Cricket Scotland’s centrally contracted players and led the team in last year’s World Cup, having amassed 520 runs at 86.66 during the qualifying tournament, including an unbeaten 139 in the final to propel his side to victory over the United Arab Emirates.
He was also at the helm at the World T20 in India this year, when Scotland claimed their first win in a global tournament at the 21st attempt after seeing off Hong Kong in Nagpur.
The 29-year-old, who steps down having accrued 1,101 ODI runs at 32.38 and 419 at 34.91 in T20 internationals, said: “After much thought and reflection I have taken the decision to step down as the captain of Scotland and not renew my contract with Cricket Scotland, in order to pursue a very exciting and attractive opportunity in the corporate world.
“It has been an incredibly difficult decision, but one that I felt I had to make at this stage in my life.”
Mommsen, the 2014 ICC associate and affiliate cricketer of the year, added: “I am enormously proud of what we have achieved over the last few years, and I have no doubt that the team and the organisation will continue to grow its presence on the global stage in the future.”
Scotland head coach Grant Bradburn said: “Preston Mommsen offers the team many qualities that will be difficult to replace.
“He will be a big loss – a quality experienced batsmen at the peak of his skills, consistently our fittest player, top fielder and of course our leader with a tough uncompromising attitude.”