Australia batsman Adam Voges has announced his retirement from international cricket, bowing out with the second highest Test average of all time behind the great Don Bradman.
The 37-year-old will lead the Prime Minister's XI against Sri Lanka in Canberra tomorrow and has confirmed it will be his last match against an international team.
"This will be it for me," he 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."
Voges became the oldest Test debut centurion when he scored an unbeaten 130 against West Indies two years ago aged 35.
He struggled during the 2015 Ashes, only twice passing 50, but retained his place in the Australian middle order and went on to enjoy an incredible 2015/16 winter, which saw him score an unbeaten 269 against West Indies in Hobart, before notching another double-hundred against New Zealand in Wellington.
His batting average after that tour of New Zealand stood at 95.50 after 15 Tests, before falling significantly after lean series against Sri Lanka away and South Africa at home.
He has not played a Test match since suffering concussion when he was struck on the head by a bouncer while batting for Western Australia in November, and retires having not scored a half-century in his final 10 Test innings.
Nonetheless, his final Test average of 61.87 places him second on the all-time list (of those who have played a minimum of 20 innings), behind only Bradman and above Graeme Pollock, George Headley and Herbert Sutcliffe.
Voges' Australia team-mate Steven Smith leads the way among current Test batsmen, with an average of 60.15, ahead of Younis Khan (53.06), new England captain Joe Root (52.80) and Virat Kohli (51.75).
Middlesex last month confirmed Voges had signed as an overseas player for this season, which will be his fourth stint with the club.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/...second-best-test-batting-average-time-behind/
The 37-year-old will lead the Prime Minister's XI against Sri Lanka in Canberra tomorrow and has confirmed it will be his last match against an international team.
"This will be it for me," he 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."
Voges became the oldest Test debut centurion when he scored an unbeaten 130 against West Indies two years ago aged 35.
He struggled during the 2015 Ashes, only twice passing 50, but retained his place in the Australian middle order and went on to enjoy an incredible 2015/16 winter, which saw him score an unbeaten 269 against West Indies in Hobart, before notching another double-hundred against New Zealand in Wellington.
His batting average after that tour of New Zealand stood at 95.50 after 15 Tests, before falling significantly after lean series against Sri Lanka away and South Africa at home.
He has not played a Test match since suffering concussion when he was struck on the head by a bouncer while batting for Western Australia in November, and retires having not scored a half-century in his final 10 Test innings.
Nonetheless, his final Test average of 61.87 places him second on the all-time list (of those who have played a minimum of 20 innings), behind only Bradman and above Graeme Pollock, George Headley and Herbert Sutcliffe.
Voges' Australia team-mate Steven Smith leads the way among current Test batsmen, with an average of 60.15, ahead of Younis Khan (53.06), new England captain Joe Root (52.80) and Virat Kohli (51.75).
Middlesex last month confirmed Voges had signed as an overseas player for this season, which will be his fourth stint with the club.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/...second-best-test-batting-average-time-behind/
