Proteas women's legend Ismail retires from international cricket

Proteas Women's stalwart Shabnim Ismail on Wednesday announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket.

The 34-year-old fast bowler bows out after representing her country in 241 international ODI, T20I and Test matches.

Her last match for South Africa was the team's Women's T20 World Cup final against the eventual champions, Australia, at Newlands in February.

In a statement, Ismail said she retired from Proteas duty to focus on her family and playing T20 domestic cricket around the world. 

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"This is a poignant but celebratory moment for South African cricket and the global game as a whole, as we celebrate and honour an incredible cricketer in Shabnim Ismail," Cricket South Africa's director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe, said in a statement.

"Shabnim has transcended women's cricket as a fierce competitor with the ability of making any batter uncomfortable at the crease with her rapid pace that regularly surpassed 120kph throughout her career.

"She will be sorely missed by the team and all South African cricket fans as she continues to inspire the next generation of cricketers during her remaining domestic career in all parts of the globe."

Dear cricket family,

After 16 years proudly representing my country, I have come to the difficult decision to retire from international cricket and move on to the next chapter of my life. 

As any athlete knows, training and competing at your best requires much sacrifice and dedication, and I now find myself wanting to spend more time with my family, particularly my siblings and parents as they get older. 

They have always been my biggest support and I want to be able to be there for them in the way they have