SYDNEY: Former Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke has withdrawn from a lucrative domestic Twenty20 contract as he reassesses whether he will ever play the sport again.

Clarke retired from all international cricket after Australia lost the Ashes to England last month, with Alastair Cook’s side wrapping up a series victory after the fourth Test before Australia won the final match at The Oval.

“Right now for me, I just think my body and my mind need some time away from the game of cricket... and just see what that’s like to be without it,” Clarke told Australia’s Triple M radio from London on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old Clarke, one of the outstanding batsmen of his generation, was taking a break in Europe with his wife, who is expecting their first child in January, and that had given him the opportunity to take stock of his future, he added.

“Kyly and I are going to go away for a week or so before I fly back home. And that’s just going to give me some time to have a think about what I’m going to do when I get home.

“I haven’t had a chance to press stop and have a think about things. Now I’ve finally got that opportunity I just want to make the most of that and spend some time with her and have a really good think.

“I’m really hopeful that love and passion that I’ve always had for the game will come back.”

Clarke, who would have teamed up with controversial former England batsman Kevin Pietersen at the Melbourne Stars in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), added he still had the opportunity of pursuing the second year of his contract.

“I’ve got a two-year deal at the moment, so hopefully it all turns out okay and I come back and play next year,” Clarke said. “But even if they decide they don’t want me to play, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to help the club have success in another way.”

Clarke battled chronic back problems throughout his career, which became difficult to manage in the past two years and struggled with hamstring problems due to the back injury.

He struggled with the bat since returning after surgery earlier this year and was woefully out of form on the Ashes tour.

“It’s been a big part of my life and I just think that with my retirement from international cricket now I just need to take myself away from the game of cricket for a little while and just see what that’s like. To actually be without it,” Clarke said.

“You push yourself to the max when you’re playing sport at the highest level and now I’ve pressed stop on that part, in regards to international cricket, I just think my body... and my mind just needs that break.”

As well as his injury issues, Clarke also cited the continuing psychological impact of close friend and team-mate Phillip Hughes’ death as a factor in his decision

“I guess that’s part of it as well. How big a part? Right now I’m unsure, “he said. “I just need this time to allow myself to go through whatever I need to go through to be able to move forward.”

Hughes died last year after being hit on the head by a bouncer at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with a shattered Clarke giving a moving eulogy at his funeral.

But Clarke did not rule out returning to the crease at some point, leaving open the possibility of playing the second year of his contract with the Stars.

“I’m really hopeful that love and passion that I’ve always had for the game will come

back,” said the batsman, who scored 8,643 runs in 115 Tests.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2015

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