OTD: Michael Clarke bid adieu to international cricket

On August 23, 2015, Michael Clarke played his last international match for Australia. In his farewell match, Australia beat England by an innings, though it was a consolation victory for the Aussies.

On this day, at The Oval cricket ground, Australia registered a one-sided victory over England. On the last day in the baggy green, Clarke was the captain for Australia. Clarke enforced a follow-on for the first time in his captaincy, and it proved effective. England's batting lineup tumbled against quality seam bowling from Australia, especially from experienced Peter Siddle.

Steve Smith, then the captain in waiting, scored a decisive century in the first innings of the game, which earned him the man of the match award. Smith played a 143-run innings before being bowled out by Steven Finn. Middle wrapped up his bowling spell with a total of 6 wickets with his name.

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A farewell through a win 

The home team, led by Alastair Cook, did not touch the benchmark set by the Australian batting line-up. Batting first, Australia, with the help of Smith's ton and three half centuries from David Warner, Adam Voges, and Mitchell Starc, registered 481 on the scoreboard. In reply, England could only get 149 and 286 after a follow-on, which resulted in an innings defeat against the arch rivals. Australia won the match by an inning and 46 runs. It was mainly England's first-innings batting collapse that let them down on the floor. Cook, in the second innings, batted bravely in front of in-form Siddle, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Marsh to score 85, but it was not enough to prevent the defeat. 

"We're disappointed with how the series went, but we came out and showed some of our best... The fans are such a great part of playing this game. "I've had a wonderful time touring here; hopefully I can now come back and have a holiday," Michael Clarke said in his farewell speech at The Kennington Oval. After the match, he left the field, heading off through a guard of honor.