5 anti-climactic endings to great careers

With Australia wrapping up the 1st Test of the 3-match Trans-Tasman series by an innings and 52 runs, Brendon McCullum's farewell has been all but spoiled. The swashbuckling Kiwi batsman and skipper too could manage just 10 runs in the 2 innings of his 100th Test, including a blob in the first essay.Looking at the events that transpired around McCullum's batting in the 1st Test, his glittering career for New Zealand may be heading towards an anti-climactic conclusion. Cricket is no stranger to not so happy endings to outstanding careers, a great example being iconic Australian batsman Donald Bradman, who fell for a duck in his final innings.In recent years too, some great batsmen from all over the cricketing globe have ended their careers on an inauspicious note. Here are 5 prominent examples.

#5 Michael Clarke (Australia)

Clarke had a forgettable outing in his final Test innings

Michael Clarke is one of the finest batsmen to emerge out of Australia in recent years and notched up some outstanding numbers in his career. In 115 Tests, Clarke scored 8,643 runs at a superb average of marginally over 49.

However, the final stages of his career served up an anti-climax for him, not only as a batsman but also as skipper of the Australian team. After all, what can be worse for a captain from either Australia or England than to lose the Ashes?

Although Clarke’s team did register an emphatic win in his final Test, the series was already in England’s kitty. The great Aussie batsman struggled to score and was dismissed for 15 in his last outing for his country.

#4 Virender Sehwag (India)

Sehwag struggled to get bat to ball in his last innings

The revolutionary Indian opener, Virender Sehwag, had a terrific Test career at the top of the order for his country. Unfortunately for him, though, the end of his career wasn't even nearly as good as the rest of it.

The worst bit was that Sehwag did not even know that it would end up being his last innings. It was the 2nd Test of India’s famous 4-0 rout of Australia in the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the home side stormed to an innings victory.

However, Virender Sehwag’s contribution in the win was next to nothing as he could put just 6 runs on the board. His career figures, on the other hand, show that Sehwag has 8,586 runs at a prolific average of 49.34.

#3 Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan)

Inzamam is stumped in his final innings ensuring a tame ending

There is little doubt about the fact that Inzamam-ul-Haq is one of the best batsmen to have emerged from Pakistan. But, as luck would have it, he did not have an ideal conclusion to a stellar career for his country.

Inzamam’s final Test appearance came during a 2-match Test series against South Africa on home soil. The Proteas led the series 1-0 after the first encounter and the two teams met once again at Lahore to play out a stalemate, which ensured the visitors a series victory.

The burly Pakistani batting great could manage scores of 14 and 3 in the two innings respectively and hardly made any impact on his team’s efforts to draw the game. Inzamam-ul-Haq’s overall career, though, makes an impressive reading with 8,830 runs at an average of just under 50.

#2 Ricky Ponting (Australia)

Ponting was not happy with himself after failing in his final innings

Arguably the greatest Australian batsman of the modern era, Ricky Ponting did not end his career on a high by any stretches of imagination. In fact, it turned out to be pretty much an anti-climax of sorts for the prolific Australian.

South Africa and Australia met in the final game of a 3-Test series in Perth with the series level at 0-0. The Australian team required a special effort from one of their best ever batsmen, but Ponting failed to deliver the goods and notched up a total of 12 runs in his last 2 innings.

For a man who scored more than 13,000 runs at an average of close to 52, Ricky Ponting’s final couple of outings were absolutely catastrophic.

#1 Graeme Smith (South Africa)

Smith did not hang around for too long after walking in to bat one final time

Graeme Smith boasts of having played out one of the most celebrated careers in South African cricket. However, his career ended on a disastrous note, to say the least, both as skipper and batsman for his home side.

It was the decider of a 3-match Test series between Australia and South Africa at Cape Town. The Australians registered a thumping 245-run victory and ensured that the greatest Proteas skipper ever had to contend with a series loss to end his career.

Moreover, Graeme Smith’s returns with the bat were also poor as he finished with scores of 5 and 3 in both innings respectively. It turned out to be quite a staggering anti-climax of a career which saw the southpaw scoring 9,265 runs at a solid average of 48-plus.