Scotland captain Preston Mommsen retires aged 29

Scotland captain Preston Mommsen has announced his retirement from international cricket in order to pursue a new career opportunity in the ‘corporate world’. The South African-born 29-year-old, Mommsen was one of Cricket Scotland’s centrally contracted players and led the national team in two global events, the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia & New Zealand and the 2016 World T20 in India.

Mommsen has been a very valuable part of the Scotland team. He played a vital role in Scotland’s qualification in the last year’s World Cup, having amassed 520 runs at 86.66 during the qualifying tournament, including an unbeaten 139 in the final to propel his side to victory over the United Arab Emirates. He also successfully led his team to their first win in a global tournament at the 21st attempt after seeing off Hong Kong in Nagpur.

The 29-year-old, who steps down having made 1,101 ODI runs at 32.38 and 419 at 34.91 in T20 internationals, said: “After much thought and reflection, I have taken the decision to step down as the captain of Scotland and not renew my contract with Cricket Scotland, in order to pursue a very exciting and attractive opportunity in the corporate world.

“It has been an incredibly difficult decision but one that I felt I had to make at this stage in my life. I would like to thank everyone involved at Cricket Scotland, both past and present, for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams and supporting me on my journey.”

Mommsen, the 2014 ICC associate and affiliate cricketer of the year, added: “I am enormously proud of what we have achieved over the last few years, and I have no doubt that the team and the organisation will continue to grow its presence on the global stage in the future.”

“I leave the team in a very healthy position with a world-class management setup and a group of players that are demonstrating the skill and hunger to push Scotland cricket into the top 12 in the world. I would like to wish both the team and the organisation all the very best.”

Scotland head coach Grant Bradburn said: “Preston Mommsen offers the team many qualities that will be difficult to replace, he will be a big loss. A quality experienced batsmen at the peak of his skills, consistently our fittest player, top fielder and of course our leader with a tough uncompromising attitude.

“Preston should be very proud of his many achievements as an international player and we wish him every success in his new career.”

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