South Africa’s Du Preez retires from ODI, Test cricket

South African batter Mignon du Preez has announced her retirement from Test and one-day international (ODI) cricket at the age of 32 but will continue to play Twenty20s (T20s), the country’s cricket board (CSA) said on Thursday.

Du Preez’s last ODI appearance came in a 137-run defeat to England in the Women’s World Cup in March, in which she scored 30 runs. In all, she played 154 ODI matches and holds the nation’s women’s record in ODI runs (3 760), scoring at an average of 32.98.

She also played one test for South Africa against India in 2014 and captained the team across all formats between 2011 and 2016.

“I’ve been wonderfully fortunate to play in four ODI World Cups to date,” Du Preez said in a statement. “These have been some of my most treasured memories in life. I would, however, love to prioritise time with my family and hopefully start a family of my own soon.

“I feel South African women’s cricket is in a very healthy state and the time is right to step away and allow the next generation of exciting cricketers to continue to grow this beautiful game of ours.”