Australia captain Michael Clarke made a shock announcement on Saturday by saying today’s World Cup final against New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) would be his last one-day international.
Clarke, who turns 34 next month, said it was the right time to retire from one-dayers to prolong his Test career and give his successor as ODI captain the opportunity to prepare fully for the next World Cup in England in 2019.
Clarke, who replaced Ricky Ponting as ODI skipper four years ago, said his priority now was to play Test cricket, which he said was the pinnacle of the sport. He announced his impending ODI retirement at the start of his prematch media conference yesterday and said he had informed his teammates, Cricket Australia, chief selector Rod Marsh and coach Darren Lehmann before making his decision public.
Photo: AFP
“I think it’s the right time for me and the Australian cricket team,” Clarke told reporters. “I was very fortunate to get the opportunity four years ago to captain this one-day team, and that was really good preparation for me leading up to this World Cup and I think the next Australian captain deserves the same opportunity.”
“I don’t think it’s realistic that I will be fit and healthy and available to play in the next World Cup, so I believe it’s the right time,” added Clarke, who has struggled with back and hamstring problems.
While Clarke said it was not for him to anoint Australia’s next ODI skipper, he praised 25-year-old Steve Smith’s contribution to the Australia team.
“Smithy has certainly matured as a player and a person,” Clarke said of the batsman, who made a superb hundred in Australia’s semi-final win over defending champions India in Sydney on Thursday. “I don’t think it would be fair for me to say who’s going to be the next captain; that’s not my place. That’s up to the selectors.”
“Smithy is certainly someone who will be spoken about,” he added.
Clarke has played 244 ODIS, scoring 7,907 runs at an average of more than 44, with a highest score of 130.
He said he would leave the Australia one-day team in better shape than the one he inherited in 2011.
“The last World Cup we were knocked out in the quarter-final and this year’s World Cup we’ve been able to reach the final and hopefully we can go on and have success in that final,” he said. “So two finals [Clarke played in the Australia side who beat Sri Lanka in Bridgetown in 2007] and one quarter-final in my time at the World Cup and I’m hopeful it [his one-day retirement] will prolong my Test career.”
Clarke has played in 108 Tests with 8,432 runs at an excellent average of more than 50 and a highest score of 329 not out.
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said he was excited, not intimidated, at the prospect of leading his country in their first World Cup final.
“We are not intimidated, we are excited,” McCullum said. “This has been the greatest time of our lives. We dreamed right from the start and to reach the final is an amazing achievement.”
“We’ve had some tremendous support back home and also from around the world,” McCullum said. “The brand of cricket that we’ve played has really touched a lot of people and endeared ourselves to a lot of people who follow this game.
“Hopefully, if we play well we’ll be smiling at the end of the day and be able to look back on a fantastic campaign and something which would hopefully invigorate the game and New Zealand.”
“We will play well tomorrow,” he said. “It does not guarantee us anything and it does not mean that Australia won’t beat us, but we will turn up and display our skills.”
“There is no challenge which is insurmountable with a lot of hard work, a lot of heart, a lot of belief and making sure that everyone’s heading in the same direction,” he said. “We will play an aggressive brand of cricket with bat and ball. We will play with the humility which we’ve played with throughout this campaign and hopefully the big fella upstairs shines on us when the pressure situations come into play.”
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