David Wiese, the Namibian all-rounder, said that he is retiring from international cricket in a press conference after his team bowed out of the T20 World Cup 2024 with a loss by 41 runs against England on DLS method at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. The 39-year-old stated that to possibly play his last game for Namibia in the T20 World Cup versus England just seems right.
In pursuit of the 126-run target, based on the DLS method due to rain, when Namibia were about to lose the contest in the last over in Group B, David Wiese tried his hardest to cut down the margin of defeat, only to find Harry Brook at long-on off the bowling of Jofra Archer. It led to Gerhard Erasmus, the captain of Namibia, who was at the non-striking end, sharing a heartfelt moment with his teammate David Wiese in the middle.
Some of the England players realised that this might be the last game for David Wiese in international cricket for Namibia before walking up to shake his hand. The South Africa-born player went out to raise his helmet and bat to the crowd at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, taking in their applause before his teammates greeted him at the dugout.
In the post-match press conference, David Wiese spoke about his career plans and said, as per ESPNcricinfo, “I mean, (the next) T20 World Cup is still two years away, I’m 39 years old now, so, in terms of international cricket, I don’t know if there’s much left in me.”
“Obviously, I (would) still like to play the game for a couple more years, I feel like I’ve still got a lot to contribute and a lot to play,” he said. “But I just feel like what better place to end a special career for me personally with Namibia. I’ve had a lot of good times with them and to play my last game for them, possibly at a World Cup against a world-class team like England, it just seemed like the right time,” he added.
During his international career, David Wiese went on to represent South Africa, making his debut in 2013 before playing his last game for his home country in 2016. Five years after that, in 2021, the all-rounder became eligible to play for Namibia based on his ancestry, and since then, he has played a pivotal role in taking their cricket to the next level.
In his 15 ODI appearances, David Wiese scored 330 runs at an average of 25.38 and picked up 15 wickets at an economy of 5.58. He also made 54 T20I appearances, scoring 624 runs at a strike rate of 127.86 and taking 59 wickets at 7.19 runs per over.