Former NZ batsman Michael Papps retires from cricket

New Zealand domestic legend Michael Papps has retired from first-class cricket. The 39-year-old, who played 14 international games for the Black Caps between 2004 to 2007, has the distinction of being the first cricketer to have scored in excess of 10,000 runs in the Plunkett Shield, New Zealand's first-class domestic championship.

Papps made his first-class debut way back in the 1998-1999 season, scoring 12,294 runs in 188 games at an average of 38.66, compiling 33 centuries, including a high-score of 316*, scored for Wellington against Auckland last year.

He is the oldest cricketer since the Second World War - and the oldest Kiwi - to score a triple century in first-class cricket.

In a statement issued by Papps, he thanked all those who helped him reach the highest level of the game.

"The personal and collective triumphs, the runs scored, the days in the dirt, and the games won and lost are all memories I will take away, but most of all it will be the people, the teams I've played for, both here and overseas, and the great friends I have made that I will cherish the most".

"I would like to thank the Canterbury Cricket Association for teaching me the game and giving me the best grounding a young cricketer could possibly receive, and to Cricket Wellington for enabling me to expand my horizons and providing me with a new challenge," he also said.

His ODI career, restricted to six games, saw him score 207 runs, with his highlight being an unbeaten 92, against South Africa. He was on the receiving end of a hostile spell from Brett Lee during one of the games and was hit on the shoulder and the helmet, forcing him to retire hurt.

Papps played a total of 8 Tests, making his debut in the whites in 2004, against a strong South African bowling attack, where he scored a half-century on debut at Hamilton. His last game also came against the same opponents, in 2008, ending a four-year period that saw him go in and out of the side.