First-class veteran Michael Klinger retires from cricket
What's the story?
Australia's domestic cricket veteran Michael Klinger has announced his retirement from first-class cricket, revealing that he would quit once the ongoing Sheffield Shield season ends. "I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have been part of the Australian domestic cricket structure for 19 years in a row and I’ve loved and appreciated every minute of it," said the 37-year-old, who represented Western Australia as his third team in the first-class circuit.
In case you didn't know..
Despite being regarded as one of the better batsmen in the country, Klinger could never get into the national side with the selectors always opting for a younger name. Having started out with Victoria in the 1998-99 season before moving over to South Australia in 2008-09, Klinger has ended his career with Western Australia, whom he last played for in the 2016-17 Shield season.
Overall, the right-hander played 182 first-class and 177 List-A matches, including stints at Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. In 2001, Klinger was controversially left stranded on 99 not out when his state captain Paul Reiffel surprisingly declared the innings, thus making him the only Australia batsman to be left stuck on that score.
The only time that he played for Australia was, when at 36 years of age, he was called up as part of a second string 11 to play Sri Lanka in three T20 internationals in February 2017.
The heart of the matter
Though Klinger has declared he would not be engaging in the four-day format anymore, he would continue his association with T20 cricket, including the Big Bash League. Having sensed that age put him on the wrong side, he flew to play in the Bangladesh Premier League late in 2017. A man to have represented Australia A multiple times, Klinger always remained just a step away from the senior team.
His coach at Western Australia, former opener Justin Langer, paid his tributes to a fantastic domestic career. "The greatest compliment I could give Michael Klinger is to explain how I’ve been pinching myself every day since he agreed to come to the WACA, because he’s such an incredible cricketer and incredible bloke," he said.
What's next?
Western Australia have confirmed that Klinger would not be a part of the upcoming Sheild game against Queensland from March 6, but have also said that his services would be called upon for the final game from March 14 if required.
Author's Take
Yet another case of supreme talent remaining unutilised, Klinger would go on as one of the legends to have never played Test cricket, remaining confined to the boundaries of the domestic structure.