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Shane Watson retires from Test cricket

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson announces his retirement from Test match cricket.

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has announced his retirement from Test match cricket.

Watson has played in five Ashes series in his career, including the 3-2 defeat this summer, but a calf injury has cut short his involvement in his sides' tour of England.

The injury happened in Australia's 64-run one-day win at Lord's yesterday, which gave the Aussies a 2-0 lead in the series.

Watson is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying "It's been a decision that hasn't come lightly over the last month especially. I know it's the right time to move on and still hopefully play the shorter formats of the game.

"I've been through a lot of different waves of emotion on what is right for myself and my family and most importantly the team as well, over the last couple of days there was a lot of clarity for me of what the right decision was, I just know that I've given everything I could possibly can to get the best out of myself.

"I just know it's the right time to move on, I don't have the real fight in me, especially for test cricket, knowing the lengths physically that I have to go through mentally and technically as well to be at my best in test cricket so I just know it is the right time."

The 34-year-old made his debut back in 2005 and has played 59 Test matches, scoring 3,731 runs and taking 75 wickets over a decade with the team.

Watson finishes with a batting average of 35.20 and four Test centuries, with his biggest score of 176 coming against England in 2013.

With the ball, Watson managed three five-wicket hauls which included figures of 5-17 in 2011 against South Africa.

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Nathan Staples
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England captain Eoin Morgan bats during the 1st ODI Royal London One-Day match between England and New Zealand at Edgbaston on June 9, 2015
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