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WELLINGTON: New Zealand batting great Kane Williamson announced his retirement from Twenty20 internationals on Sunday, saying the team needed “clarity” ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Williamson will depart the shortest format as his country’s second-highest run-scorer, tallying 2,575 runs from 93 matches, including 18 half-centuries, at an average of 33.4.

He captained New Zealand to the final of the 2021 T20 World Cup — where he scored 85 in a losing cause against Australia — and to semifinal appearances in 2016 and 2022.

Williamson relinquished the captaincy in both white ball formats when signing a “casual” contract with NZ Cricket, allowing him to pick and choose his availability.

Last week the 35-year-old confirmed he would be cutting back on his international commitments to focus more time on his young family and playing in professional white ball leagues.

“It’s the right time for myself and the team. It gives the team clarity for the series moving forward and ahead of their next major focus which is the T20 World Cup,” Williamson said in a statement.

“There’s so much T20 talent there and the next period will be important to get cricket into these guys and get them ready for the World Cup.”

Williamson will miss the home T20 series against the West Indies starting on Wednesday and has also made himself unavailable for the subsequent ODI series.

However, he will be available for three Tests against the tourists in December, where he will look to add to his New Zealand-record 9276 runs in the longest format.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink said Williamson had earned the right to determine how he plays out the rest of his international career.

“We’ve made it clear to Kane he has our full support as he reaches the back end of his illustrious career,” Weenink said.

“We would, of course, love to see him play for as long as possible, but there’s no doubt whenever he does decide to finally call time, he will go down as a legend of New Zealand cricket.”

LAHORE, Pakistan: Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi grabbed three wickets and star batter Babar Azam hit a half-century to guide Pakistan to a four-wicket win over South Africa in the second Twenty20 international.
Shaheen took 3-26 to restrict South Africa to 139-9 before Azam’s 47-ball 68 helped Pakistan overhaul the target for the loss of six wickets in 19 overs for a 2-1 series win in Lahore.
South Africa won the first match by 55 runs in Rawalpindi while Pakistan took the second by nine wickets, also in Lahore.
A full house of 32,000 at Qaddafi Stadium cheered the home boy Azam when he cracked three successive boundaries off Ottniel Baartman to reach his 37th half-century — his first after 13 T20I innings.
Azam and Salman Agha  lifted Pakistan during a solid 76-run stand for the third wicket after Saim Ayub  and Sahibzada Farhan  fell by the seventh over.
Azam smashed nine boundaries but his dismissal to pacer Corbin Bosch put Pakistan in a spot of bother with Hasan Nawaz  and Mohammad Nawaz  falling in quick succession.
Usman Khan, six not out, hit the winning single.
“I am happy at the come-from-behind series win,” said the skipper Agha. “We were 1-0 down so it was a great effort by the players to win the next two.”
South African skipper Donovan Ferreira rued his side’s batting.
“We lost wickets in clusters and didn’t score much, but credit to the bowlers to keep it tight,” said Ferreira. “It was a great learning for us.”
South Africa, sent in to bat, slipped to two down without a run as Shaheen dismissed Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius — both without scoring — off the second and third balls of the match.
It became three down without a run, but Dewald Brevis overturned a leg-before decision off the fifth ball.
The reprieve helped him add 38 for the third wicket with Reeza Hendricks to revive the innings, before debutant Usman Tariq broke the stand, getting Brevis caught off his second ball.
Brevis hit two sixes in his 22-ball 21.
Hendricks and Ferreira  added 34 for the fifth wicket.
Hendricks, top-scorer with a 36-ball 34 with two boundaries, holed out in the 15th over off Tariq, who finished with 2-26.
It was left to Bosch to help South Africa reach a fighting total with 30 not out.