Tomorrow’s Cricket World Cup final, a face off between old Down Under rivals Australia and New Zealand, will be team Captain Michael Clarke’s final One Day International, according to a statement from the 33-year-old.
The decision to step down from ODIs was a recent one for Clarke, as he said today:
“I made the decision 48 hours ago when I asked myself if I thought I would be playing in the next World Cup and I said to myself that I don’t think I will be.”
Clarke has been a stalwart of the Australian team for over 12 years, as he made his ODI debut back in 2003 against England.
While today’s announcement from Clarke adds extra weighting to tomorrow’s highly-anticipated match between ‘straya and NZ, Clarke’s cricket career is still alive as far as Test matches are concerned, as he said, “I still believe I’ve got a lot to offer the team as captain of the Test team,” adding that he was not ashamed to call Test cricket the sport’s “pinnacle”.
“I will sleep no worse tonight than I ever do. I’ll be no less nervous when I walk out to bat,” Clarke said on the Word Cup Final, which will be his 245th ODI.
Game. On.
Via ABC.
Lead image by Ryan Pierse via Getty.
