Spartan 329 signs off in style with 'PH'

Many years ago, the sport was blessed with a leader, a young lad that went on to become his country’s favorite son, a hero of billions- Michael John Clarke! A ton on test debut, endless records followed. Who would know that 27 more will follow! 17,000 plus international runs, two-time World Cup winner, a fighter that never gave up! Here’s a tribute to the great:

It was the end of an era when Michael Clarke announced his retirement after the fifth and final Ashes test, at the post match presentation ceremony of the 4th Test which Australia lost by a large margin. Poor form in last six months and regular injury concerns were surely the major factors of his retirement.

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England were certainly the underdogs at the start of the series, so there were not expectations and pressure on them. However, no one knew that a miracle was about to happen. England outplayed the Aussies in every match except the second. The fourth test ended with Australia losing with very low score in the first innings.

The fifth test was certainly very much important for the Aussies even though they had lost the urn, because it was the farewell test of Rogers and more importantly Michael Clarke, the man who  served his country for 10 years by some exceptional batting and carrying ahead the torch of captaincy successfully that Punter had handed over to him.

When Pup came out to bat in the first innings of the fifth test, he received the guard of honour from the England team. It seemed as if he was already emotional. His first innings dint last long as he was dismissed cheaply for just 15. Nobody thought that it was the last time we were seeing the Spartan bat as the second innings was still left. But that wasnt the case as England lost the match after the Aussies enforced the follow-on. Former team-mate Shane Warne made the retirement special-

Here's a special tribute video I made to celebrate Pup's cricket career for Australia. Please share it around - SKW#ashes #cricket #michaelclarke #tothefuture Michael Clarke
Posted by Official Shane Warne on Sunday, 23 August 2015

The moment Siddle took the last wicket, Clarke jumped in delight and touched the black arm-band having 'PH' written on it. It was for his brother Phil Hughes who died a tragic death last year. Though Aussies won Clarke's final test in style but touching the black arm-band and feeling Hughes' presence was certainly the best moment of Michael Clarke's sign off.

A small message from TheCrickBlog to the legend :-

"Thank You  for the memories. Thank You for entertaining us over the last decade with some amazing batting and one of the best captaincy skills. You have made us proud. You have redefined Australian Cricket. Your absence in the slips will forever be felt. We love you." 

– Param Kothari