Retiring Australia batsman Michael Hussey has confessed he simply no longer had the desire to continue playing international cricket.
The 37-year-old former Northants batsman and captain will walk away from his duties with Australia after the upcoming third Test and one-day international series against Sri Lanka draws to a close.
The left-hander has hit 6,183 runs in 78 Tests at an average of 51.52 but admitted he had been considering quitting the game for some time, with the idea of long periods spent on the road with Australia on tours of India and England holding little appeal.
He said: “Leading into the Australian summer, I knew that my time was pretty close.
“I just wanted to see how I felt throughout the Australian summer and my feelings haven’t really changed, getting towards the end of this summer.
“I know I am making the right decision. I think the clincher for me was when I started looking ahead towards the Indian and the Ashes series.
“I didn’t have the excitement and buzz about facing the challenges of those two tours that I felt like I should have.
“For me, that meant that I was making the right decision. I think for two tough tours where you are away from home for a long time, you need to really be 100 per cent committed to the challenges that are going to be presenting everyone.”
Hussey missed Australia’s one-day tour of the United Kingdom after his fourth child was born prematurely, also deciding to withdrawing from the Champions League Twenty20 for personal reasons.
He is grateful to have been able to step down from international cricket under his own steam, though, much like his friend and former captain Ricky Ponting who also retired this year.
“I’m quite lucky in that respect, to be able to go out on my terms,” he said. “Not too many people get to do that. I’m very fortunate in that respect.
“I still enjoy the game but there’s a lot of things that I won’t miss as well, like that sick feeling you get in your stomach before you have to go out and bat every time or the travel and the time away from home, I certainly won’t miss that.
“There’s so many wonderful things that I will definitely miss as well, like the camaraderie you get in the dressing room, singing the team song, winning Test matches for Australia. It’s fantastic fun.
“That will be hard. And I would love to just keep doing that forever if you could, but there’s so many other factors that come into play as well.”
Hussey will remain involved with the Western Australia Warriors and the Perth Scorchers for the remainder of the domestic season before making a decision about his future.
Hussey played for Northants between 2001 and 2003, and was a prolific run-scorer.
He still holds the club record for an individual score, making 331 not out against Somerset at Taunton. He had set the previous record by scoring 329 not out two seasons earlier.
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