Decorated Sydney Sixers captain not offered new deal, announces retirement from Australian cricket
Moises Henriques, the most capped cricketer in Australian domestic history, has today announced his NSW and Sydney Sixers retirement.
After calling time on his 131-game first-class career more than a year ago, Henriques played five matches during the Blues’ triumphant One-Day Cup campaign last season and led the Sixers to the BBL|15 Final.
The 39-year-old was not offered a contract for the coming KFC BBL|16 season and had undergone back surgery in February.
“I had interest from other BBL teams, but it just didn’t feel right to go elsewhere,” Henriques said.
“After a bit of deliberation, I’ve decided it’s time for me to call stumps on my BBL career and playing commitments with NSW … and start looking forward to the next chapter of my life.
“I have been very fortunate to call cricket my job for the past 22 years as a professional athlete.
“To the people I’ve been fortunate enough to play with and work alongside, I’d like to thank you. If it weren’t for those relationships and the deep care I have for them, I’m sure I would have reached this day much earlier.”
Henriques’ contribution to the game will continue in his role as a Cricket NSW Foundation director, which he has held since late 2025.
Henriques, who migrated from Portugal to Australia as a child, signed his first NSW contract aged 17 in 2004.
He departs having won 14 major trophies with Cricket NSW teams, while he also represented Australia in all three formats, earning Baggy Green men’s cap No.432 in 2013.
While this decision signifies the end of his Australian domestic career that began with his one-day debut in Wangaratta in 2006, Henriques will turn out for his native Portugal next month in a European qualifying tournament for the 2028 T20 World Cup.
He will also remain available for overseas leagues and is set to represent Glasgow Cosmic in the new six-team European T20 competition that launches in August.
“Across 22 years, the motivation or the ‘why’ can waver,” Henriques reflected.
“The one constant that never wavered was that the fans and supporters gave me the feeling of purpose or the feeling that I could make a positive impact on someone’s day.
“What I’m going to miss is that instant feedback you get from either hitting a boundary, taking a wicket or taking a catch and hearing all the fans light up and the stadium getting behind you and the team – it’s a really addictive feeling.”
With 420 appearances (110 first-class, 112 List A and 198 T20s) for NSW and the Sixers across all formats, the allrounder departs as the most capped player for Australian domestic teams.
Henriques has played in all 15 BBL seasons with the Sixers and currently holds the men’s competition games record with 154 appearances, including an unprecedented 129 as captain.
He is a three-time BBL champion, leading the side to consecutive titles in BBL|09 and |10, and he was player of the match for his 70 off 41 balls to lift the Sixers to the inaugural title in BBL|01.
Henriques finishes as the club’s all-time leading men’s scorer with 3,410 runs as well as 30 wickets and 72 catches. He also won the 2012-13 Champions League with the Sixers.
General manager Rachael Haynes said Henriques was “one of the most influential figures in Sydney Sixers and BBL history”.
“His leadership, integrity and commitment have shaped the club into what it is today,” she added.
Henriques also represented NSW 38 times in the T20 format prior to the BBL’s inception and was part of the Blues 2008-09 Twenty20 Big Bash and 2009-10 Champions League titles.
He made his T20I debut against New Zealand in his home city in 2009, followed by his ODI bow against India in Delhi later in the year. His Test debut also came against India in Chennai four years later, impressing with 68 and 81 not out in an eight-wicket loss.
Henriques international career spanned more than a decade with the last of his 44 Aussie caps (four Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is) coming in 2021.
“When I was a youngster when I first started school, I didn’t speak English all that well and I had a strange name, so I didn’t really fit in,” Henriques recalled.
“I got teased a fair bit and it wasn’t until my confidence grew through sport and in particular through cricket and the camaraderie that cricket brings that I started to feel confident enough socially at school to fit into I guess what you’d call the Australian culture.
“I feel very fortunate that cricket just gave me an opportunity to feel like I belonged in the community.”
The retirement of Henriques leaves the Sixers searching for a new men’s captain for the first time in four years having not missed a match since BBL|11.
NSW skipper Jack Edwards looms as an obvious candidate, while Tasmanian captain Jordan Silk also remains on their list.
