Published: Aug 20, 2015, 08:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 20, 2015, 08:13 PM (IST)
Outgoing Australian captain Michael Clarke, who is playing his final Test of his career, was on Thursday given Guard of Honour by England cricketers. Clarke will be retiring from international cricket at the end of the Ashes 2015 and the fifth and final Ashes 2015 Test is the last time he is captaining Australia. Clarke received the honour when he walked out to bat after the dismissal of opening batsman David Warner at the score of 161 in the 46th over of the Australian innings. Clarke is playing his 115th Test for Australia, and he had already announced retirement from One-Day International (ODI) format after the end of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, wherein he led his team to title win.
Clarke’s retirement was totally unexpected, but it cannot be said that it came out of the blue. He was struggling for runs on a consistent basis across formats, and the ease with which he used to score runs had gone missing.
What a moment for Michael Clarke http://t.co/MNzN3zh527 #Ashes pic.twitter.com/TGw9mp6ukp
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 20, 2015
In the ongoing tour of England for the Ashes 2015, Clarke failed to inspire Australia as he did not turn up with the bat any time. Clarke has still not scored a half-century in a series wherein his side has already been beaten.
Clarke is among the few cricketers who received Guard of Honour from opposition team. When Sachin Tendulkar walked out to bat for his final innings against the West Indies, the Caribbean team gave him a classic reception. South Africa too formed the Guard of Honour for Ricky Ponting in his final Test.
