Michael Clarke, theformer Australian captain, will not play for the
New South Wales Blues in the forthcoming season of the domestic One-Day
Cup, the state association confirmed on Tuesday (June 21). The
35-year-old Clarke, who retired from international cricket following
Australia's Ashes series defeat to England in 2015, had hinted at the
possibility of a return to top-flight domestic cricket.
Talks of a
possible return to the Australian domestic cricket surfaced after
Clarke made his Twenty20 comeback last month with the Kowloon Cantons in
the two-day Hong Kong T20 tournament, where he made 6 and 15 not out in
his two innings. However, Cricket NSW confirmed that the prolific
right-hander, who scored 11 Sheffield Shield hundreds in 44 games, will
not turn out for the state team in any format in the 2016-17 season. It
is understood that the stylish right-hander would not be able to
participate in the team's pre-season training activities due to his
business commitments.
"Michael has decided against returning to elite cricket with the NSW Blues," a Cricket NSW spokesman told News Corp.
Clarke
however, harbours hopes of playing in the upcoming season of the
city-based Big Bash League, a tournament he hasn't previously played in
despite having been contracted with the Sydney Thunder and the Melbourne
Stars in the past. In February, Sydney Sixers, who had a few slots to
fill in their roster for the sixth season of the tournament, had spoken
to Clarke about his return plans.
"We only have a few positions
available on our roster and we are just working through our review
process from last season. It's a long off season so we will wait and see
how things pan out in the coming months," Dominic Remond, General
Manager of the Sixers, had told AAP.
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