Retired out: The ruthless new cricket trend that could shake up T20 World Cup

Sunday, 18 January 2026

ANALYSIS: Strangled down the leg-side, run-out at the non-striker’s end, or retired out? Go on, batters, pick your poison.

While the first two have long been part of the most-hated list of dismissals for any player, the ruthless retirement is now the new contender in town.

In an ever-evolving game, cricket’s substitute-like ploy of dragging a struggling batter back to the shed, in favour of a new, hopefully quicker-scorer, is an innovative tactic that now looks a decent bet to shoot into the spotlight at next month’s T20 World Cup.

An option that had always been in the law book, but had been used very sparingly in recent years, has all of a sudden come to the fore Down Under in the New Year, with a former New Zealand international unleashing the play on the local domestic scene.

BJ Watling, the accomplished former Black Caps wicketkeeper, is the man behind the move, as coach of the (rather aptly-named) Northern Brave, the only team in the Kiwi competition, at the time of writing, to have employed it. And not once, not twice, but three times.

In fact, two of those occasions came in the one game, which saw the Brave make history in their tied match against the the Volts in Mt Maunganui on January 4, as they became the first team in men’s T20 cricket to retire two players in the same innings.

With the hosts 109-3 after 16.1 overs in their pursuit of 167, it was former test opener Jeet Raval who was the first to make way, having struggled to 23 off 28 balls. Then, in the next over, 19-year-old prodigy Xavier Bell followed suit, having mustered just 9 off 13.

Both moves paid amazing immediate dividends, with each of the replacement batters, Ben Pomare (the stand-in skipper) and Scott Kuggeleijn, each whacking sixes off their first ball faced, going on to make match-turning cameos of 20 off 10, and 34 not out off 12, respectively.

Buoyed by that, the Brave then employed the tactic again in their next game four days later, in an 87-run thrashing of the Canterbury Kings in Hamilton, when, ironically, it was pinch hitter Tim Pringle dragged, after making just 5 off 12.

That it’s Watling employing the move is in itself interesting for the fact he himself was never regarded as a rapid-scoring type, instead a gritty, largely red-ball specialist, at least at international level, where he had a strike rate of just 68.37 from 28 ODIs and 65.51 from five T20Is.

Given the Brave’s precedent, it was therefore surprising in their six-wicket win against the Central Stags in Napier on Tuesday, that they did not retire Pomare, who, with his side 65-1 and needing 55 off 33, was dismissed for a slow 8 off 17.

Watling declined to speak about the newfound strategy when contacted by The Post this week, but in a text message, noted:

“[It’s] clearly a tactic coming into the game, but one we are just learning about and trying to make decisions that are best for the team in the situations required.

“All our players have the ability to win games of cricket and sometimes in certain situations it might suit someone else’s skillset and that’s what we weigh up as a team, basically.”

Along with the Brave, there have been two teams utilise the retirement rule in Australia’s BBL this month, with the Sydney Thunder sitting down Nic Maddinson and the Melbourne Renegades doing likewise with Pakistan international Mohammad Rizwan.

It’s been an intriguing development for the sport’s short format, and one which former Black Cap, and TVNZ commentator Mark Richardson rates as a big positive.

“Any innovation like that which is performance-based, I think is fantastic for the game,” he told The Post.

“Because some batters, you just dig yourself into a hole, and I’ve seen, even players who can be quite aggressive, just hold the bat too tightly and things just go from bad to worse.

“I know, as a batter, you’re eternally hopeful that you’re going to find some timing. And often people are just one middled, well-timed shot away from finding their form.

“[But] I think [it’s a good thing] if someone has the courage to pull them out and go, ‘Look, it’s not working for you today, it might work for you tomorrow, it’s best we put in a fresh set of eyes, a fresh batter in there and see how they go’.”

“You obviously spend a wicket, you can’t have the batter back, so there is some jeopardy involved. But I think it’s a great strategy.”

Indeed, it does pose the loophole quirk where the rule differs from the ‘retired hurt’ one, where a batter can be injured and come back later in the innings. What is to say a player hasn’t instead suddenly ‘injured’ a calf in taking a run? Umpires will no doubt have to be alert.

There is also something of a stigma attached to being the guy retired out. It’s a forced walk of shame where you not only don’t get a ‘not out’ to boost the average, as you do with retired hurt, but are also effectively being told you’re not up to the task.

“I guess it’s the batting version of when you’re fielding and you get taken from one position where you’ve just let a couple go through your legs or something and you get moved down to fine leg,” Richardson muses.

“But I think batters understand that T20’s a game where if you faff around because you can’t find your form and you’re struggling with a certain bowler for two overs, it can change a game.

“It’s just how you would word it to a batter… ‘We still value you, you’re still in the team, and the next game could be yours’. You want it to be a positive as well.”

In the case of Bell, it sure proved that way, his next innings after retiring out seeing him plunder an unbeaten 53 off 21 as the Brave posted 240-4, the third-highest Super Smash total ever, against the Kings.

Elsewhere this month, the tactic has also been in action, with the West Indies’ Roston Chase retired out by his Pretoria Capitals team in a SA20 game, while Ayushi Soni became the first player in the WPL, and only the second woman in franchise T20 cricket, to be dismissed in that fashion, before the very next day fellow India international Harleen Deol followed suit for the UP Warriorz.

Chase had also last August become the first player from a top-tier team to be retired out in a T20I, in the Windies’ unsuccessful chase against Pakistan in Lauderhill.

It was a 2025 year in which Black Caps batter Devon Conway had also endured the fate with the Chennai Super Kings (though that was under the IPL’s super-sub rule), a month before the UAE women’s team then took things to a whole new level in what was an international-first of retiring all 10 players.

Since declarations are not allowed in limited-overs cricket, in order to beat looming rain in a T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier match against Qatar in Bangkok, at 192-0 after 16 overs, the team’s entire lineup entered and exited the field one-by-one to be retired out. Qatar were then rolled for 29 in 11.1 overs.

At the last men’s T20 World Cup, in the West Indies and United States in 2024, there was one retired out dismissal ‒ Niko Davin in Namibia’s loss to England.

But do not be surprised if this year’s event, in India and Sri Lanka, sees several more, as this latest trend catches on, and batters get so adept at not needing any sighters and striking from ball one.

Retired outs in T20s in 2026

Nic Maddinson, Sydney Thunder (BBL): 30 runs off 26 balls, strike rate 115.38

Jeet Raval, Northern Brave (Super Smash): 23 off 28, SR 82.14

Xavier Bell, Northern Brave (Super Smash): 9 off 13, SR 69.23

Roston Chase, Pretoria Capitals (SA20): 24 off 15, SR 160

Tim Pringle, Northern Brave (Super Smash): 5 off 12, SR 41.66

Mohammad Rizwan, Melbourne Renegades (BBL): 26 off 23, SR 113.04

Ayushi Soni, Gujarat Giants (WPL): 11 off 13, SR 84.62

Harleen Deol, UP Warriorz (WPL): 47 off 36, SR 130.55