Back injury forces Pieter Seelaar into retirement

The Netherlands captain, Pieter Seelaar, has announced his retirement from international cricket after several recurring back injuries that have forced him out of the game. Notably, he missed the second ODI against England with injury, and Scott Edwards led the side in his absence.

"Since 2020, my back problems got worse to such an extent that - much to my regret - I am no longer able to give everything I've got," Seelaar was quoted as saying in a statement by the KNCB.

The first ODI of the series on Friday (June 17) was the last of Pieter Seelaar's 134 international appearances (57 ODIs, 77 T20Is). The veteran made his Dutch debut in July 2006 against Sri Lanka and made his T20I debut two years later against Kenya in Belfast as well. He was a member of the Netherlands team that beat England at Lord's in the T20 World Cup of 2009 and then again in the 2014 T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Pieter Seelaar has finished with 115 wickets and 938 runs in international cricket to his name. He claimed four-wicket hauls in ODIs and T20I and finished with the best score of 96* against Scotland in Malahide.

"Pieter's input has been priceless, first as a player and later also as captain. His management style is open, honest and transparent, which has always been appreciated by the players. He can look back upon a wonderful international career which unfortunately comes to an untimely end. We wish him the very best for the future," a board official further added.

Seelaar was appointed skipper of the side in 2018 after Peter Borren's retirement. His biggest achievement was captaining the side to victory in the qualifying tournament for the 2021 T20 World Cup. He has also led his side against several major nations in the ODI Super League. However, he has recently struggled with a back injury, and the team faced a massive defeat against England in Friday's first ODI under his leadership.

Seelaar has finished his career as Netherlands' most-capped T20I player and their leading T20I wicket-taker, along with their second-most-capped ODI player and their joint-highest ODI wicket-taker as well.

Meanwhile, Eoin Morgan, England's captain, paid tribute to him in the presentation after Sunday's ODI, "It's been amazing. His contribution to Dutch cricket has been outstanding," he shared. "On behalf of the England cricket team, we'd like to congratulate him on his retirement and wish him well on his next journey."

Netherlands are already 2-0 behind in the ongoing ODI series against England and will square off in the 3rd ODI on June 22.