Interview conducted by: Bimal Mirwani
Scotland captain Preston Mommsen stunned the cricketing community by announcing his retirement from international cricket at the age of 29.
Mommsen, who was bestowed with the honour of leading his country in 2014, captained his side in the 2014 World Twenty20, 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World Twenty20, where Scotland finally earned their first win at a major International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament on their 21st attempt as they beat Hong Kong by eight wickets.
Mommsen’s decision to start a new chapter in his life stems from the fact that he received “a very exciting and attractive opportunity in the corporate world”, more specially in property investment.
“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,” Mommsen said. “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 fulfil my dreams and supporting me on my journey. 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.”
Throughout his career, Mommsen has been campaigning for Associate nations to be given more opportunities to make their presence known and felt on the international stage.
Mommsen has urged the ICC to reconsider changing their stance on the new format of the World Cup, which will see just 10 teams compete, with eight already having been guaranteed their places through the rankings. As a result, Scotland would face an uphill battle to qualify for the tournament as they would need to beat Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe and either Pakistan or West Indies in the 2018 qualifying tournament for one of the two spots available.
The Durban-born batsman also voiced his displeasure at the fact that Associate nations aren’t given an opportunity to really show what they are capable of at the World Twenty20 as eight teams, including six Associates, compete in qualifying round at the beginning of the tournament to clinch the two spots available in the Super 10 stage.
Paying tribute to Mommsen, Scotland coach Grant Bradburn said: “This is a bittersweet situation for our team and for Cricket Scotland. Above all we are very happy for Preston to be offered such an exciting opportunity. Preston is intelligent, well respected and ambitious, so for him to be moving into a corporate field that he is passionate about is just brilliant.
“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 has proudly been a champion for the Associate game and a role model who has helped bring next tier nations to global attention, always striving to give Associate cricket the growing credit it deserves.
“Preston should be very proud of his many achievements as an international player and we wish him every success in his new career.”
Mommsen represented Scotland in 42 ODIs, scoring 1,101 runs, which included two centuries and six fifties, at an average of 32.38. He also played in 24 Twenty20 Internationals and amassed 419 runs, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 34.91.