Former Australia captain Michael Clarke yesterday pulled out of his Big Bash League deal with the Melbourne Stars and said he will take an indefinite break from the game.
The 34-year-old, one of the outstanding batsmen of his generation, retired from international cricket last month after the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval.
Clarke was expected to honor a two-year contract signed in April with the Stars in Australia’s domestic Twenty20 league, but he said he needed time away from cricket.
Photo: AFP
“Right now for me, I just think my body and my mind need some time away from the game of cricket ... and just see what that’s like to be without it,” he told Triple M radio.
Clarke, who has long battled back problems, said quitting international duties had prompted him to consider his wider playing future, as his pregnant wife, Kyly Clarke, prepares to give birth to the couple’s first baby in January next year.
“It’s been a big part of my life and I just think that with my retirement from international cricket now I just need to take myself away from the game of cricket for a little while and just see what that’s like. To actually be without it,” he said.
“You push yourself to the max when you’re playing sport at the highest level and now I’ve pressed stop on that part, in regards to international cricket, I just think my body ... and my mind just needs that break,” Clarke added.
As well as his injury issues, Clarke also cited the continuing psychological impact of close friend and teammate Phillip Hughes’ death as a factor in his decision
“I guess that’s part of it as well. How big a part? Right now I’m unsure,” he said. “I just need this time to allow myself to go through whatever I need to go through to be able to move forward.”
Hughes died last year after being hit on the head by a bouncer at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with a shattered Clarke giving a moving eulogy at his funeral.
However, Clarke did not rule out returning to the crease at some point, leaving open the possibility of playing the second year of his contract with the Stars.
“I’m really hopeful that love and passion that I’ve always had for the game will come back,” said the batsman, who scored 8,643 runs in 115 Tests.
“I’ve got a two-year deal at the moment, so hopefully it all turns out OK and I come back and play next year, but even if they decide they don’t want me to play, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to help the club have success in another way,” Clarke added.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB