Melbourne: Australia captain Michael Clarke has dismissed suggestions that he might quit one-day cricket after returning home from the ongoing Zimbabwe tour with a hamstring injury.
The 33-year-old strained his hamstring in training before the start of the tri-series, which also features South Africa, in Harare, following a long break from the game and was forced to miss the first two matches. Upon returning to the team, he aggravated the injury during Australia’s calamitous three-wicket loss to Zimbabwe on Sunday, after which, he was ruled out of the remaining matches of the tournament.
With Clarke having suffered back problems in recent seasons, Australian cricket pundits have speculated the captain might be forced to give up one-day cricket after the 2015 World Cup. Clarke, however, was having none of it.
“I love the game as much as I always have,” he told reporters at the Sydney airport on Tuesday. “The last thing I am thinking about is retiring.
“I think I have had a really good run in the last 12 to 18 months and my back’s been in really good shape,” Clarke said. “It’s obviously frustrating that I have been training for four months in preparation for getting onto the field and I played one game, or half a game, in Zimbabwe.
“But I am really confident. I feel as fit and healthy as I have been throughout my career. I’ve worked exceptionally hard over the last four months.”
Clarke’s selection against Zimbabwe has come under fire from Australian media, as was his decision to come back to play after retiring hurt during the match. Clarke, however, said he felt himself fit to play.
“I spoke to the doctors and the physio in Zimbabwe and I believe we made the right decision,” he added. “I would have been really disappointed if I got on a plane straightaway without seeing how I was going.
“I did all the things in regards to leading up to the game.
“So, in my mind, I was 100 per cent fit to perform. I felt fine. I had two fitness tests four days and then two days before the game. So I ticked all the boxes.”
Clarke was not prepared to back away from his post-match criticism of selectors for failing to pick middle-order batsman Steven Smith, an accomplished player of spin bowling, against Zimbabwe.