Legendary Zimbabwean batsman and former skipper Brendan Taylor announced that he will retire after his country’s match against Ireland. “It’s with a heavy heart that I’m announcing that tomorrow is my last game for my beloved country. 17 year’s of extreme highs and extreme lows and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” the 35-year-old wrote on Instagram. 

Taylor played 34 Test matches and 45 T20Is for Zimbabwe, scoring 2320 and 934 runs respectively. In 204 ODI games, Brendan Taylor scored  6677 runs, which means he will close as the country’s second-highest run-getter. His 11 ODI hundreds are already a record for Zimbabwe. 

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“It’s taught me to humble, to always remind myself how lucky I was to be in the position I was in for so long. To wear the badge with pride and leave everything on the field.

“My goal was to always leave the team in better position as to when I first arrived back in 2004 , I hope I have done that,” Taylor added. 

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Taylor made his international debut in 2004. He was a part of Zimbabwe’s squad visiting Sri Lanka. After failing in the first four games, the wicket-keeper batsman scored a fine 74 in the last ODI of the series. Next, the 35-year-old scored consecutive half-centuries against Australia. 

Taylor first captained the team between 2011 and 2014, before stepping in to fill the role again earlier this year. He was Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer at the 2015 World Cup, but left the national set-up following the tournament for a three-season spell as a Kolpak signing in county cricket with Nottinghamshire.