Clarke to bid adieu from ODI after WC final
Melbourne: Michael Clarke, one of the Australia’s most inspirational captains, will retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup summit clash against New Zealand at the iconic MCG here on Sunday.
Clarke, who is just four days short of his 34th birthday, has played 244 ODIs till now scoring 7907 runs at an average of 44.42 with eight hundreds and 57 half-centuries. He will, however, continue to play for Australia in Test format.
The stylish right-hander, who has been under immense pressure to hold his place in the ODI side, announced his retirement at the pre-match media conference here on Saturday.
“I just want everyone to know that tomorrow will be my last ODI game for Australia. I have just spoken to my teammates and to James Sutherland and Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann and informed them that tomorrow will be my last ODI for Australia,” Clarke said at the packed media conference.
“I just found out that tomorrow will be my 245th one-day game for Australia. It’s certainly been an honour and a privilege to represent my country for that amount of games, and I’m extremely grateful and thankful to every single player I’ve been lucky enough to play with, and this team is certainly no exception to that,” said Clarke who has played 244 ODIs for Australia and made 7907 runs at an average of 44.42 with eight hundreds and 57 half-centuries.
He led his country in 73 ODIs, of which Australia won 49. In 108 Tests he played so far, Clarke has scored 8432 runs at an average of 50.79 with 28 hundreds and 27 half centuries.
Clarke has been ravaged by injury in recent months and he underwent surgery after playing in the first Test of the four-match series against India in Adelaide in December last.
Even his participation in the World Cup was in doubt but the selectors gave him time to be fit by the second group match against Bangladesh. Eventually, he regained full fitness and led the side admirably well so far though he has not been in the best of form with the bat. Asked what he was doing 48 hours ago when he exactly arrived at the decision, Clarke had a pregnant pause before replying.
“When I made the decision? I think when I left the Sydney Cricket Ground (after SCG semi-final), I think I got back to my house at about 12:30 am and I think Kyly (wife) was in bed. I think that’s when I spoke to her about it. So yeah, it was at that time,” he said.
Asked if he’s feeling fine or a bit emotional, Clarke was quick to cut that question short. “No, I’m fine, I’m completely fine. I’m very happy, like I said. I’ve said from day one that the game owes me nothing, I owe the game everything, and I’ve been really fortunate in my life to be where I am today because of the game of cricket. Look, I know I’ve made the right decision. I told my teammates 10 minutes ago. I told the selectors and James Sutherland about an hour ago,” he said.
Clarke emphatically denied that it ever crossed his mind to do the opposite and quit Tests and continue playing ODIs. He emphasized on how he still wants to lead the team in Test matches.
“I’ve never hid behind the fact that I find Test cricket to be the pinnacle of our sport. I don’t feel bad about saying that I believe Test cricket is the toughest part of our game. I love that challenge. I found it extremely difficult to play every of those Test matches. I still think I’ve got a lot to offer the team as captain of the Australian Test team. I think Test cricket is the ultimate for an Australian sportsman,” he said. (PTI)