What’s the story?
Australian cricketer Adam Voges today announced retirement from international cricket. His game for the Prime Minister's XI against the visiting Sri Lankans in Canberra tomorrow will be his last in baggy greens.
"This will be it for me," Voges said. "I'm certainly looking forward to getting out there and playing this game. I've had an amazing couple of years with Australia with the Test team and I've loved every minute of it.
"I see this as a last opportunity to play against an international team and I'm certainly looking forward to that."
In case you did not know
Though he made his One-Day International and T20 debut for Australia in 2007, it took him 8 more years to earn a Test call.
But it is in this five-day format that the Australian middle order batsman shone the brightest. Voges featured in 20 Test matches for the national side in which he scored 1485 runs. He averaged a healthy 61.87 and had a highest score of 269 not out. He was one of the most trusted batters for the outfit in the last two years.
He also played 31 ODIs and 7 T20Is in a green and yellow jersey in which he scored 870 and 139 runs respectively. In both formats, he averaged above 45 which is quite brilliant.
The heart of the matter
The 37-year-old has not played a Test match since suffering a concussion while playing for Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania in November last year. He also failed in the first two Test matches against South Africa and this outing would have given him a chance to keep himself in the reckoning for the third Test but maybe Voges thought it would be best for him to hang up his boots now.
Australia have played Peter Handscomb at Voges' spot at No. 5 for the last few games as he scored a half-century on Test debut and then followed it up with two centuries. He has, therefore, more or less cemented his place in the side.
What’s next?
We will have to wait and watch if Voges does stick to playing domestic cricket too. He has been a veteran for Western Australia and the outfit would not want to lose him.
Also, Australia cannot recall Voges (who is known to be a good player of spin) to their squad midway through their Test series against India which can be a bit of a disadvantage.
Sportskeeda’s take
At 37, Voges wasn’t getting any younger and this might just be the right time for the star to call it quits rather than to just fade away.
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