Western Australia Star Matthew Kelly Announces Professional Cricket Retirement

Kelly was born in Durban, South Africa, but he moved to Perth at age four. Kelly started his senior cricket career at Claremont-Nedlands, being part of the team that won the WA Premier Cricket T20 competition in 2014-15. This led to Kelly being selected on Western Australia's rookie list for 2016-17.

Kelly said in a post he put up on Instagram: 

"Having just entered the gates of the WACA Ground for the first time, I could never have known where, or how far, the game would carry me. It swiftly became my most loved location on earth, and like so many others able to spend time there, it became a home away from home, one I loved." 

6 domestic titles & 172 Shield wickets

He would later succeed as one of the most accomplished domestic players in Western Australia. His six titles came across three One-Day Cups in 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23, two Sheffield Shields in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and the 2022-23 BBL final.

He was a key player in WA's 23-year Sheffield Shield drought in 2021-22, when he finished the season with 35 wickets at 15.77. During the 2022-23 title defence, he claimed 4-41 in the second innings of the final against Victoria.

Kelly ended his Shield career with 172 wickets for Western Australia. In his final Shield season, he captured 21 wickets at 19.33 from four games, including efforts of 5-43 versus New South Wales and 6-49 versus Tasmania.

He has also. This accolade is presented to the WA men's player who most embodies the values of the team and fosters a positive team environment.

WA high-performance manager Kade Harvey said in a club statement:

"Over the last 10 seasons, Matt has been a fantastic clubman both on and off the field. During this time, Matt has been a key performer for WA and Perth Scorchers and has been a crucial part of this successful period in recent times across all formats."

Scorchers career also ends.

Kelly has registered 55 BBL wickets over six seasons, 25 of which have been in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. In the 2022-23 final against Brisbane Heat, he took the wickets of Max Bryant and Michael Neser, finishing with 2-37.

He moves to fifth on the Perth Scorchers all-time BBL wickets list, behind Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson and Ashton Agar.

Kelly had already announced his withdrawal from WA's state contract for 2026-27 in April, citing the need to concentrate on limited-overs. His final List A match was the game against Victoria at the WACA, Perth on 21 February 2026. The final T20 match he played was against Melbourne Renegades in Perth on 7 January 2025.

His retirement also means WA and Perth Scorchers are without one of their veteran pace-bowling options going into the 2026-27 season. The Scorchers have not yet named a replacement.