6 of the most successful farewells in ODI history

Don Bradman – arguably the best batsman who ever lived – had a forgetful last inningsCricketers come and go, some leave on a high while others on a low. Everyone has bad days and sometimes those performances make you question your ability. But when a cricketer finally decides to leave the game, a fitting farewell is always in order, especially if they’ve served their country well.There have been many legends throughout cricketing history, which have called it a day and although they want to leave on a high – sometimes it just doesn’t work that way. However, we’ve seen some one-day games where a batsman steps out to bat for the last time and has made it memorable for not only himself but for the rest of the cricketing world.Here are six successful farewells in ODI cricket:

#1 Imran Khan in 1992

Imran Khan led Pakistan to their only World Cup title in 1992

Skipper Imran Khan bowed out when he transformed a mediocre Pakistan team and led them to victory in the 1992 World Cup. Coming back from retirement, at the age of 39, Imran led Pakistan to their first and only World Cup victory when Pakistan defeated England in the final in Melbourne.

Imran won the toss and chose to bat and led from the front, after coming to the crease at 24 for 2. The skipper top scored with 72 off 110 balls, hitting six boundaries, but, unfortunately, succumbed to Richard Illingworth off Ian Botham.

England needed 250 to win the World Cup and legendary bowler Wasim Akram picked up 3 for 49 England couldn’t defeat the unpredictable Pakistani side. Imran took the last wicket of Illingworth and lifted up the World Cup trophy with Pakistan winning by 22 runs.

#2 Glenn McGrath in 2007

McGrath was deservedly awarded the Player of the Tournament in the 2007 World Cup

Glenn McGrath announced that he would retire after the 2007 Cricket World Cup in West Indies and was sure to make it count. Glenn, who was probably one of the most successful bowlers in the world, had the biggest stage in history as his final song. And he made that count.

Throughout the tournament, he bowled consistently and always economically, which helped Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting. In his 11 games, Glenn was the highest wicket-taker with 26 scalps to his name. He had the best average of the tournament with 13.73 with an economy rate of 4.41.

In the final against Sri Lanka, Glenn took one wicket in the rain-affected game, and this contributed to Australia’s Duckworth-Lewis method win by 53 runs. His final game saw him not only see his team to their fourth World Cup victory, but he also became the player of the tournament.

#3 Andrew Flintoff in 2009

Flintoff was one of his country's best all-rounders

In Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff’s last game, he gave a man of the match performance and led England to a series victory against West Indies. Rain delayed the start before play and the game was reduced to 29 overs a side. England made 172 for five, thanks to forties by Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara.

West Indian batsmen couldn’t get off to a settled start and Andrew was on fire, as he became the third English bowler to get a hat-trick. Freddie took the wickets of Dinesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul and Sulieman Benn back-to-back in the 27th over of the game. His figures of five for 19 off five overs led his team to a 26 run victory and a 3-2 series win. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket a year later, due to his inability to recover from a chronic knee injury.

#4 Irfan Pathan in 2012

Irfan Pathan might have played his last game for his country in 2012

Although, Irfan Pathan hasn’t officially announced his retirement yet, his last international match was three years ago and will probably be his last. It was the fifth one-day international match against Sri Lanka, with India already sealing the series 3-1.

India won the toss and decided to bat, and Irfan came into the crease after the departure of Gautam Gambhir at 213 for six. The all-rounder contributed an unbeaten 29 off 28 balls, as India made 294 off their 50 overs.

Irfan bowled magnificently as he took five wickets for 61 off his ten overs, including Sri Lanka’s opening batsmen, Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan. This man of the match performance would sadly be the last for the Indian all-rounder after suffering a knee injury a few months later. Since then Irfan has played in the IPL and has struggled to get back into the Indian playing XI.

#5 Brendan Taylor in 2015

The Zimbabwe captain scored a brilliant hundred in his last ODI

Brendan Taylor’s last ODI was in Zimbabwe’s final match of the 2015 Cricket World Cup against India in the group stages. The wicketkeeping captain announced his retirement two days before the group stage match and left mainly due to financial reasons.

The 29-year-old made 138 off 110 balls and smashing 20 boundaries, which included five sixes. His partnership with Sean Williams (93) and Craig Ervine (109) pushed Zimbabwe to 287. Unfortunately for Brendan, his last innings was shattered by an unbeaten 110 by Suresh Raina and 89 by MS Dhoni, which took India to a six-wicket victory with eight balls remaining.

Nevertheless, after 11 years of wearing the red Zimbabwean bird shirt, he has and will always be one of the best cricketers to ever come out of Zimbabwe.

#6 Michael Clarke in 2015

Michael Clarke bid adieu to one-day cricket after leading his side to the 2015 ICC World Cup

Another 2015 retirement, another World Cup retirement and unlike Brendan, Clarke’s story ended off with a bang. After announcing his retirement prior to the final Clarke came in with nothing to lose, but another World Cup trophy to gain.

The final was against fellow host nation and Oceania neighbours, New Zealand, and was the first final for the Kiwi team. New Zealand was bowled out for a disappointing 183 with James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson taking three wickets apiece. The captain top-scored with 74 off 72 balls with 11 boundaries to his name, and helped his side win their fifth World Cup title by seven wickets with 17 overs remaining.