West Indies star all-rounder Andre Russell received a heartwarming send-off during his final T20 International match against Australia at Sabina Park, Jamaica, on July 22, 2025.
As the second T20I began, both the West Indies and Australian players lined up to present a guard of honour to the 37-year-old legend, marking a proud moment in his illustrious career. Also present at the ground was Olivia Grange, the Honourable Minister of Sports, Entertainment and Culture, who handed Russell a special memento to commemorate his years of service to West Indies cricket.
Russell’s Final T20I Outing and Emotional Speech
Before the match, Russell had confirmed this would be his last T20I, concluding a career that saw him play 86 matches, score 1122 runs at a strike rate of 163, and pick up 61 wickets. He was a key member of the T20 World Cup-winning squads in 2012 and 2016.
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒅, 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚,” 𝑹𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰’𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕.”
Despite the emotional atmosphere, Russell didn’t disappoint with the bat. Walking in during a top-order collapse, he blasted 36 runs off 15 balls, which included two boundaries and four sixes, giving the fans one last glimpse of his power-hitting.
Australia Seal Series with Record Partnership
Although Russell’s quickfire innings helped push West Indies to 172/8, the visitors had the final say. Australia chased down the target comfortably, thanks to a record unbeaten 131-run stand between Josh Inglis (78 off 33)* and *Cameron Green (56 off 33)**. Their partnership guided the Aussies to an emphatic eight-wicket victory with nearly five overs remaining, handing them a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“𝑨𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑻20 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒚,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑪𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
“𝑻𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.”
Earlier in the match, West Indies were off to a flying start with Brandon King’s 51, but the middle order faltered under pressure from Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell, limiting their score below the 200-run mark once again.
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