Legendary South African umpire Marais Erasmus has revealed the first Test match between hosts New Zealand and Australia in Wellington will be his last on the international cricket scene.
The George native's long and impressive umpiring journey began in 2002 in first-class cricket in South Africa. He then stood in his first international match, a T20I between the Proteas and Australia, at the Wanderers in 2006.
In the 18 years since, the stoic adjudicator has travelled the world, featured in four ICC Cricket World Cups and was the on-field umpire for the incredible 2019 Cricket World Cup Final.
Along the way, Erasmus was added to the 12-strong Elite Panel of Umpires and earned the ICC Umpire of the Year accolade no less than three times.
After 80 Test matches, 124 ODIs and 43 T20Is, he departs as one of cricket's most experienced umpires.
"I'll miss the privileges and the travelling," Erasmus told Cricbuzz.
"But I've had enough of being away and living outside of my comfort zone. I think having a more boring life is what I'm looking for.
"To have seen the best players and been to the iconic venues and World Cups is a massive privilege. It's been quite a journey from being a schoolboy who kept score while watching Eddie Barlow play at Newlands."
Erasmus added that Cricket South Africa still has some plans for him later in the year in an advisory role for the next generation.
"We have some travel planned domestically, and from September I'll be in the hands of CSA," he said.
"We still need to finalise how they want to use me. I'll umpire in domestic cricket next season and play a mentoring role. I might go to the Khaya Majola Week [a schools event] or the club championships, and I'll be watching and advising umpires."
