Zander de Bruyn announces retirement

Zander de Bruyn, the South Africa allrounder who played three Tests in 2004, has announced his retirement from professional cricket. De Bruyn, 38, made his first-class debut in 1995-96 and in 242 games he has scored in excess of 14,000 runs with 29 centuries and picked up 285 wickets with his right-arm medium-pace.

He has also played 242 List A games, in which he has scored 6085 runs with six centuries and picked up 166 wickets. He amassed 125 T20s with a highest score of 95 and picked up 62 wickets. De Bruyn has represented several teams in his professional career, including his franchise Lions, Gauteng, MCC, Somerset, Surrey, Titans, Transvaal, Warriors, Worcestershire and Abahani Limited.

"A decision like this is not made overnight and it is something that I have given a lot of thought. I am eternally grateful for the career that I have been able to have in this sport and it is definitely something I am going to miss," de Bryun said.

"The Bidvest Wanderers (the Lions' home base) is an incredibly special place to me and although I have played for other teams, this has always been my home. I consider myself privileged to have been able to finish my career here and am happy to reminisce about the many change room memories and the incredible people I have met along the way. Cricket will always be close to my heart and I look forward to now supporting the boys from the sidelines."

De Bruyn's career took off when he joined Easterns in 2002, where he prospered under coach Ray Jennings. In 2003-04, he emulated Barry Richards by becoming only the second player in South African domestic cricket history to score 1000 runs in a SuperSport Series or Currie Cup season.

He was selected for the 2004 Test tour to India and his career began promisingly, with 83 on debut in Kanpur. He played the second Test in Kolkata and the first Test of the home series against England later that year, but that Test at Port Elizabeth turned out to be his last. He never made a fifty after his debut innings and picked up three wickets across the three games.

He then turned to county cricket as a Kolpak player, first signing for Worcestershire in 2005. He then moved to Somerset in 2008 where he established himself as a valuable senior player, averaging 53 in one-day games, before joining Surrey in 2010.

Greg Fredericks, CEO of Lions and Gauteng Cricket Board, commended De Bruyn on his career. "Having a career that spans over nearly two decades is not something that every cricketer is going to experience in their lives and I take my hat off to Zander for that," he said. "He has served Gauteng Cricket loyally and has been a true ambassador of the game. I wish him and his family all the best in the road ahead."