Mark Waugh today announced his retirement from international cricket after he was overlooked by the Australian selectors for the opening Ashes Test at Brisbane on November 7. Speculation had been rife in the Australian media that Waugh, twin brother of Aussie captain Steve, would retire from the game after his poor performance in last week's 3-0 series whitewash of Pakistan in Sharjah where he scored only 80 runs in four innings - the fourth successive series he has averaged 35 or less.
He is the only change to the squad line-up, with selectors recalling Yorkshire captain Darren Lehmann after a four-year absence. The actions of the selectors prompted Waugh to announce his immediate retirement as soon as he was informed that he had been dropped from the Ashes squad.
"It was a bit emotional but I've had a great career so why worry?" he said. "It has to come to an end and there are a lot of people worse off than me. I would like to be remembered as someone who gave 100% to Australian cricket."
"Having been left out of the current Test team and the one-day team earlier this year, I feel my chances of playing for Australia again at the age of 37 have led me to this decision. While I feel very disappointed not to be playing for Australia again, I've been extremely lucky to have played for so long in such a great era for Australian cricket," he added.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
