Sybrand Engelbrecht Retires From International Cricket After Netherlands' Exit From T20 World Cup

Shortly after Netherlands' campaign in the 2024 T20 World Cup ended with an 83-run defeat to Sri Lanka, Sybrand Engelbrecht has announced his retirement from international cricket, said the Royal Dutch Cricket Association in a statement. Engelbrecht, born in Johannesburg in South Africa in 1988, had made his international debut for the Netherlands in 2023 at the age of 35. He did play in the 2008 Men's U19 World Cup for South Africa, where he took a blinder of a catch to dismiss a young Virat Kohli in Jonty Rhodes-style.

After that tournament, Engelbrecht went on to represent the Cape Cobras from 2008/09 to 2015/16) and Western Province (2009/10 to 2016/17) in all three formats of South Africa's domestic cricket circuit.

Engelbrecht played a crucial role in Cobras' famous win against the Barbados Tridents in the 2014 Champions League, where he defended 11 runs in a Super Over, after being called into the side as a replacement for JP Duminy.

In 2016, he left cricket to focus on a career in project management, and armed with an MBA degree from Stellenbosch Business School.

Engelbrecht came to the Netherlands in 2021 due to his employer Fairtree, and got into playing club cricket at Voorburg CC, who he captained to winning the Dutch Topklasse championship in 2023.

When the Netherlands qualified for the ODI World Cup in India last year, Engelbrecht was selected and became the leading run-getter for the side in the tournament, amassing 300 runs in eight innings, averaging 37.50 at a strike-rate of 66.66, including two half-centuries.

In what was his final one-day international game, Engelbrecht also took a fantastic outfield catch against Bangladesh, which further established his reputation as an outstanding fielder in the