Colin Munro Ditches Red-Ball Cricket to Concentrate More on Shorter Formats

New Zealand all-rounder, Colin Munro has decided to ditch red-ball cricket to concentrate more on the shorter formats.

Munro admitted he gave up on Test cricket, as his “passion” for the traditional format had dimmed.

Meanwhile, Munro has played only one Test for the Kiwi side way back in 2013 against South Africa. He returned with 15 runs at an average of 7.5.

However, he had a healthy first-class average of 51.58 and had picked up 58 wickets.

Also, Munro had an excellent 2016-17 Plunket Shield, scoring 685 runs at 85.62. But, this year he played only match in the shield scoring four. Further, Munro will not take part in the remaining Sheild games for Auckland.

Dip in passion:

Munro admitted his passion for Test cricket has gone down consistently. Although, he will continue to play white-ball cricket for Auckland Aces and New Zealand.

“It would be fair to say that my focus hasn’t been on four-day cricket this season and my passion for that format of the game isn’t what it once was,” Munro said. “I’m still 100% committed to playing for the Blackcaps and Auckland Aces in the shorter formats and have some big goals I’d like to achieve in the next couple of years.

“Obviously with the World Cup next year I’d love to give myself the best chance of making that squad, and that’s where my main focus is,” he added.

Meanwhile, Munro has a boasting record in T20 cricket with three hundred to his name. Munro had scored 3712 runs at an average 30.17 and with an impressive strike rate of 148.89 in T20s.

Previously, England’s Adil Rashid and Alex Hales also gave up red-ball cricket to focus on the limited-overs.

Meanwhile, New Zealand announced the squads for practice matches to be played against England – two-day pink-ball game and two-day red-ball match.