'It's Tougher Now With A Little Family At Home' : BJ Watling On His Decision To Retire

New Zealand keeper-batsman BJ Watling has been a pretty loyal servant of New Zealand cricket and has been one of the most gritty keeper-batsmen in recent times. However, with BJ Watling deciding to retire from international cricket after the upcoming England tour, it would leave a gaping hole in the Kiwis’ Test side. The 35-year old cited the need to spend with family prompted his decision to quit international cricket.

BJ Watling will go down as New Zealand’s most successful keeper-batsman, having scored 3773 runs in 73 Tests at a healthy average of 38.11, along with eight centuries and 13 fifties. The South African born cricketer replaced Luke Ronchi as the keeper-batsman in the longest format and has been silently delivering performances good enough for New Zealand’s rise in red-ball cricket.

BJ Watling, who will feature in the two Tests against England before playing India at the ICC World Test Championship final, commented that he understands the standards required to keep his place in the team and the present family commitments have made it tougher. The gloveman asserted that his body feels good and fresh and spending time with family is one of the significant factors behind his retirement.

“I know the standards required to keep going at this game and the level and to be honest it’s tougher now with a little family at home. Things are busy. Actually no, the body feels surprisingly good. A few years ago I would have said my body is going to play up and that will be it, but actually, I’m feeling quite fresh in the body. I think there’s a few other factors and spending some time at home will be the main thing,” Watling told Stuff.co.nz.

I remember the partnership with Mitchell Santner: BJ Watling

BJ Watling remembered his best Test score of 205 that came against England at the Mount Maunganui in late 2019 and recalled the 261-run stand with Mitchell Santner. The right-handed batsman highlighted that they were a bowler down in that game and had to dig deep to win it. Watling went on to praise Neil Wagner, who took a fifer in the second innings, to script a victory by an innings and 65 runs.

“I remember the partnership with Mitchell Santner. It was his maiden century and a fantastic innings. We dug deep to get a bit of a total and give ourselves a chance of winning that Test match. I think we were a bowler down as well, and to do it on the final day – I’m not sure how many overs were left, but there weren’t too many left and Wags [Neil Wagner] stepped up to the plate and did a fantastic job. So it was a special win,” he told ESPN Cricinfo.

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