T20 World Cup 2024: Netherlands’ Engelbrecht announces retirement from international cricket

Netherlands’ Sybrand Engelbrecht announced his retirement from international cricket following his team’s T20 World Cup 2024 match against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Born in Johannesburg, Engelbrecht turned out for South Africa in the 2008 U19 Cricket World Cup, where he turned heads with a stunning two-handed diving catch at point.

After not getting the opportunity to represent South Africa at the international level, he shifted his focus to a career in financial and project management in 2016 and then moved to the Netherlands due to work. He played club cricket for Voorburg CC in the Dutch country.

In 2023, he realised his dream of playing international cricket when he turned out for the Netherlands at the ODI World Cup. He top-scored for his team in that tournament with 300 runs at an average of 37.5. The 35-year-old was also the highest run-scorer for the Netherlands at the ongoing T20 World Cup, where he amassed 98 runs at an average of 24.5.

Engelbrecht retires from international cricket having played 12 ODIs and as many T20Is for the Netherlands.