Antigua: West Indies former captain and wicket-keeper batter Merissa Aguilleira on Wednesday announced her retirement from international cricket after an 11-year-long career.
The 33-year-old has played over 100 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and captained West Indies from 2009-2015, a period during which she led the team to the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2013, and the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World T20 in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Merissa was part of the 2016 ICC Women’s World T20 winning team.
In her primary role as a wicketkeeper, Merissa has over 100 dismissals in ODI cricket, recently achieving the magical three figures during the home series against South Africa in September last year. She has over 70 dismissals in T20 Internationals (T20Is) from the 95 matches.
Having made her ODI debut against the Netherlands in July 2008 and her T20I debut against South Africa in June 2009, the former captain played 112 ODI matches, amassing 1752 runs at an average of 20.61 and 95 T20Is, scoring 768 runs at an average of 14.49.
“I wish to thank all members of the team with which I worked and that worked with me to secure success in our endeavors to bring pleasure, pride, happiness and inspiration to West Indian people everywhere. It is an absolute honor to have been of service to West Indies Cricket. My continued goal is to assist Cricket West Indies (CWI) to build and develop women’s cricket and help others like me to achieve their dreams,” Merissa said in a statement.
CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said, “From my own experience this cannot be the easiest of times for Merissa.
However, her dignity and candor in communicating this decision has been exceptional.”
“The highest of accolades are due to her for a career spanning more than 10 years and which included over 100 ODIs. Far exceeding the statistics, Merissa has been the epitome of professionalism throughout her career whilst consistently upholding the highest possible standards on and off the field,” Adams said.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]