Maia Lewis retires from all cricket

Maia Lewis, the captain of New Zealand Women's team, has announced her retirement after an impressive international career spanning close to 15 seasons. Lewis, 35, made her debut against England in the 1991-92 seasons and went on to play nine Tests, and 78 one-dayers, where she managed 1372 runs at an average of 22.49.

Lewis made a significant contribution with her dynamic captaincy and has been responsible for the development of several young cricketers on the international scene. She led the side in the 1997 World Cup in India, where leading run-scorer for New Zealand in this year's World Cup with 189 runs at an average of 31.5.

"Maia has had a long and successful involvement with women's cricket and will be missed as the leader of the national women's side," said Martin Snedden, the chief executive of New Zealand cricket. "As well as having an outstanding international career, Maia has been a leading domestic player for a number of years."

She represented Canterbury and North Harbour in domestic cricket and was the leading run-scorer for the State Wellington Blaze in recent seasons - since the introduction of the State League in 1998-99 she made 1578 runs at an average of 41.52. She was also awarded the Ruth Martin Cup, for being the best batsman in the 2002-03 season.

Lewis will remain involved with cricket in her role as a community cricket co-ordinator at Wellington.