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Following defeat in the Old Firm derby, is is now reportedly more “realistic” than ever that Celtic replace Wilfried Nancy with a key managerial target.

Chris Sutton: Nancy will be "fortunate" to survive Rangers defeat

It’s been an utter disaster for Nancy ever since his arrival. The Frenchman had the tough task of following on from Martin O’Neill’s excellent interim spell in charge, which saw the 73-year-old lose just once, and to say that he has not picked up where the veteran manager left off would be an understatement.

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Defeat in the Old Firm derby may well be the nail in the coffin for his tenure. Celtic initially came flying out the blocks, racing into a 1-0 lead, but their fragilities soon came to the fore.

One Youssef Chermiti goal signalled an almighty collapse and Rangers had their rivals on the ropes before Mikey Moore delivered the knock-out blow to seal a 3-1 victory. The Bhoys were out for the count and there’s now every chance that Nancy’s tenure is waved off, according to Chris Sutton.

It’s hard to argue against Sutton’s verdict and Parkhead chiefs are already reportedly considering Nancy’s future, with a “realistic” replacement now emerging.

Postecoglou's Celtic return now more "realistic" than ever

According to TEAMtalk, Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic return is now more “realistic” than ever in the summer after Parkhead chiefs met to discuss Nancy’s immediate future at the club.

The Australian, who favours a 4-3-3 formation, would reportedly need a number of promises to seal his return in the summer, but those are promises that the Bhoys should do everything to match. In terms of options, Postecoglou is arguably the best that Celtic have even after his difficult spells at Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest.

Postecoglou at Celtic

Record

Games

113

Wins

83

Draws

12

Defeats

18

Trophies

5

His record speaks for itself and there’s no doubt that Postecoglou’s return would be worth the wait. In the meantime, however, Celtic must find a solution.

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Whether that means a second return for O’Neill this season is the big question. The 73-year-old almost had a perfect record in his first interim spell this season and could get the chance to pick up where he left off.

The other option, of course, is that Celtic stick with Nancy in the hope that he finally turns a corner in Scotland. But after fan protest and Old Firm derby defeat, that corner is beginning to become more and more impossible.

Newcastle United will be heading into 2026 hoping for a major change of fortunes in the Premier League.

At the moment, with seven league defeats next to their name, Eddie Howe’s Magpies are loitering in the bottom half of the tense division.

Still, they can push back into the top half of the ever-changing standings, with a win over a relegation-threatened Burnley later on.

With January also coming into view, a slightly disgruntled Howe will know he has plenty of opportunities to improve his squad in the hectic transfer window, as the Toon already begin to be linked with several intriguing names in attack…

Newcastle place Bundesliga forward on their radar

Unfortunately, Newcastle’s attack just wasn’t at the races whatsoever on Boxing Day versus Manchester United, as a 1-0 defeat angered the travelling Tyneside masses.

To solve some of their issues up top, with only a weak 23 goals scored in the Premier League so far this season, Newcastle could look to the sky blue half of Manchester to try and pick up reserve Manchester City winger Oscar Bobb, who they’re rumoured to be keen on.

He isn’t the only option down the flanks that has piqued Newcastle’s curiosity, however, with a new report from Caught Offside revealing that the underperforming top-flight club are among the sides interested in for in-demand Hoffenheim forward Bazoumana Toure, having begun carrying out ‘background checks’ regarding the teenage talent.

The report states that the Ivorian is a hot commodity as we edge closer to January, with the aforementioned Red Devils, Arsenal and Brentford all placing the 19-year-old prospect onto their radars, after a breakout season to date in the Bundesliga, alongside Howe and Co.

The report further elaborates that Hoffenheim aren’t looking to sanction a sale in January, but could well entertain a sale if a £39m bid were to come their way – a significant fee for any teenager.

However, Newcastle have shown that they aren’t afraid to splash the big bucks on some major attacking reinforcements from Germany in recent windows, with Toure perhaps going down as a sensational Nick Woltemade repeat, as the £69m centre-forward continues to light up the Premier League for Howe’s men.

Why Toure could be a Woltemade repeat

Newcastle supporters would have been taken aback somewhat by the millions splashed out on Woltemade, with the forceful 6-foot-6 attacker never being exposed to the bright lights of the Premier League before a club-record move was finalised.

Thankfully, he has made that transition from Stuttgart to Tyneside look smooth, after powering home a stunning 18 goals from only 36 appearances at the ex-employers, before adding 11 goal contributions and counting at St James’ Park.

Toure has also begun to generate a lot of hype around his name, lining up for Hoffenheim, with journalist Bence Boscak lauding him as a presence that’s “very exciting to watch”, like Woltemade has become instantly in England.

He also has the goals and assists to back up his entertaining performances, much like the Bremen-born striker, with his sudden emergence into the spotlight in Germany, after also starring at Hammarby, potentially standing him in good stead if he tries to navigate that tricky next step to the Premier League.

Toure’s league numbers for Hoffenheim

Stat – per 90 mins*

Toure

Games played

14

Goals scored

2

Assists

4

Touches

43.5

Accurate passes*

17.1 (76%)

Key passes*

1.4

Big chances created

4

Ball recoveries*

4.6

Total duels won*

5.8

Stats by Sofascore

Indeed, the table above shows off a star who will likely be unfazed by the challenges of the Premier League, with Toure instantly acclimatising to the Bundesliga after a move from Sweden, with a standout six goal contributions next to his name from 14 league appearances this season.

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But, there is a reason why Bocsak deems him to be “one of the most exciting young wingers in European football”, with the gung-ho number 29 a very well-rounded figure on the pitch, with ball recoveries and duels won aplenty this campaign, too, while also regularly bombing forward with weaving runs.

Across his last three Bundesliga contests, before going out to the African Cup of Nations, the 19-year-old would complete a stunning six dribbles, two of which came against German behemoth Borussia Dortmund.

Woltemade has also been praised for what he can offer the Toon, away from just his output, having been hailed as “mesmerising” for his link-up play by Sky Sports’ Andy Sixsmith.

It would likely cost Newcastle a pretty penny, but for £39m, they could land another very interesting import from Germany, like their unique number 27.

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ScorecardDawid Malan top-scored for the Lions with 51 but it was not enough to secure victory•Chris Whiteoak

An unbroken century stand between Iftikhar Ahmed and Babar Azam helped Pakistan A to a seven-wicket win in the first unofficial T20I against England Lions at the ICC Academy in Dubai.Dawid Malan top-scored with 51 from 44 balls, including three fours and three sixes, for the Lions and they looked to be in control when Pakistan A slipped to 25 for 3 in the fifth over. However, Iftikhar and Azam, both of whom featured in the recent ODI series against England, successfully regrouped with unbeaten half-centuries as they finished off the chase with an over to spare.Jake Ball claimed the scalps of Shahzaib Hasan and Sohaib Maqsood in the space of three balls after Reece Topley had found Fakhar Zaman’s edge in the opening over of the innings. But with canny strike rotation and selective hitting, particularly against the spin pairing of Liam Dawson and Stephen Parry, Pakistan A’s fourth-wicket pair turned the tide.Iftikhar struck two fours and three sixes in 66 not out while Azam finished unbeaten on 53, with six fours and a six.With the World Twenty20 looming in March, the Lions fielded four members of the team that beat Pakistan 3-0 last month – and it would almost certainly have been a fifth had it not been for the decision to allow David Willey to take up an offer to play for Perth Scorchers in Australia’s Big Bash League.James Vince, who impressed in each of his three innings for the senior team, fared less well as the Lions captain on this occasion. He fell in the second over of the match for 2, bowled by the impressive Aamer Yamin, who delivered a similar knockout to Jason Roy in Sharjah last week to claim a wicket with the first ball of his T20I career.Tom Westley made 11 from 17 balls before being stumped off the bowling of Bilal Asif, but the arrival of Sam Billings at No. 4 helped to kick England’s innings into action. He made 31 from 21 balls, with three fours and a six, and added 47 for the third wicket with Malan in the space of 6.1 overs.Two overs later, Billings became Bilal’s second victim as he holed out to midwicket but Ross Whiteley ensured that the Lions’ tempo was maintained in the closing overs with two sixes in a 15-ball 22. His stay was ended by a Rumman Raees slower ball, and Raees then added his second with the penultimate ball of the innings to remove Joe Clarke for 15.The second of the five-match series will take place under lights in Dubai on Thursday.

Asim Kamal, thought by many as the perfect heir to Inzamam, has been omitted from the third fitness camp © AFP

The national selection committee announced a squad of 26 players to attend the third and final training and fitness camp to be held in Karachi. The camp, that runs from July 27 to August 6, will be supervised by Talat Ali with Haroon Rashid and Aaqib Javed serving as batting and bowling coaches respectively.Asim Kamal, thought by many as the perfect heir to Inzamam-ul-Haq, has been omitted from the third fitness camp even after being part of the 22 that took part in the second camp in Lahore. Five new faces, including fast bowler Mohammad Irshad, batsmen Shahid Yousuf, Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor and left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir have been added to the squad for the Karachi camp.Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, a prolific performer for Pakistan during the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, has been overlooked again for the camps. Naved, currently playing for Sussex, was neither named in the first two camps nor was he awarded a central contract.A 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa will be named at the end of the camp. According to sources, Younis Khan, who is currently playing county cricket in England, is most likely to be selected in the 15-member squad despite not being included in the list of 26 probables. The selected squad would then attend the final phase of the camp at Gaddafi Stadium from August 19 to 26.Squad: Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Najaf Shah, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Irshad, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Akhtar, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Hafeez, Rao Iftikhar, Imran Farhat, Sohail Tanveer, Yasir Hameed, Naveed Latif, Shoaib Malik, Faisal Iqbal, Abdul Razzaq, Umer Gul, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Shahid Yousuf, Misbah Ul Haq, Imran Nazir, Khalid Latif

The $5 million winner-takes-all Stanford 20/20 SuperStar game between West Indies and South Africa due to be played on November 10 has been cancelled.The decision was made almost inevitable once the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to amend the itinerary for the forthcoming West Indies tour to allow leading players to take part in the Stanford match.”To say I am disappointed is an understatement,” admitted Allen Stanford, the Texas-based millionaire who is the main organiser behind Stanford 20/20. “We are frustrated at the turn of events, especially in light of the fact that the date for the Stanford Super Star Match was approved by both the WICB and the ICC from January 2006. However, we have always said that we would not do anything which conflicts with, or compromises West Indies cricket and so we have decided that it is in the best interest of everyone involved, especially the players, that we cancel the Super Star Match.”Perhaps the most disappointing fact about the cancellation is that the West Indies tour to Pakistan was not finalised until August, more than two months after the agreement with South Africa for the November match was confirmed. The West Indies board informed Stanford that an application had been submitted to the PCB to delay the start of the tour so that the conflict could be resolved. The PCB was unable to accommodate the request.In a last ditch effort to salvage the match, Stanford asked if the WICB could provide the names of those players that would be on the team to Pakistan so that a side could be selected out of those not going on the tour, but a spokesman for Stanford said this was also “not accommodated by the WICB leaving no alternative but cancellation”.Some of the players training at the Super Star team camp would be a natural choice for the Pakistan tour. “We did not want to put these players in a position where they would have to choose between our event and playing for the West Indies,” explained Stanford. “This would be unfair to them, and one of our goals has always been to foster the positive and successful development of our athletes.”The Super Star camp began in Antigua on August 23 and yesterday Stanford himself gave the news to the players via teleconference. “I am very, very hurt and disappointed,” said Pedro Collins. “I wish that things like this could be resolved amicably in future. Playing against South Africa would have been a great opportunity for the young players to establish themselves in world cricket.”The Stanford 20/20 board will meet on Monday in Antigua where the future of the Stanford 20/20 programme will be discussed.

Two scapegoats and another dropped catch. Jason Gillespie spills, and Billy Bowden looks on © Getty Images

Australia praying for rain and the English media heralding a bright new dawn? Something strange has come to pass at Old Trafford over the past three days. For all the faux-excitement in the British tabloids about the start of the football season, one needed only peel a couple of pages beneath the surface to discover the story that’s really got tongues wagging this summer.”Make no mistake: England are on top in the Ashes now, and we LOVE it,” bellowed Mike Walters in The Mirror, under a banner headline that paid due reference to England’s star turn of the second day. “We’re Giles ahead!” cackled the paper, after our Ashley had produced his own imitation of Shane Warne’s ball of the century to bowl Damien Martyn for 20.”Spinball Wizard,” agreed The Sun. “Same place, same spin and the same devastating result,” elaborated their correspondent, John Etheridge. “The King of Spain’s incredible fizzer landed on a leg-stump line before turning so wickedly it clipped the top of the off pole.” even diverted their chief sports writer, Steven Howard, away from his football duties to pass comment on the proceedings. “Suddenly it’s all gone quiet over there,” he intoned. “The Poms were giving their boys one hell of a beating.”Such incendiary comments really got the Aussies’ goat during the one-day series, with The Australian newspaper suffering a back-page sense of humour failure following ‘s depiction of their fast bowlers as “Sheilas”. Today, however, they were meekly resigned to their fate.”If any slim doubts remained as to the uphill battle Australia faces to retain the Ashes, they were duly erased by England’s further domination,” stated Andrew Ramsey in The Australian. “The poise and self-belief displayed by the home team’s middle-order was in marked contrast to another slipshod effort by Australia’s bowlers and fielders, who are showing frailty under sustained pressure.””Australia were battling for survival in the third Test on Friday evening,” agreed Chloe Saltau in The Sydney Morning Herald, after enduring “one of their worst days in the field” on Thursday, and losing Justin Langer to “a stroke of brilliance before tea”. These are words that could have summed up any given England performance of the last 20 years. When they are applied to Australia it is confusing in the extreme.And hot on the heels of the poor performances … come the recriminations. Michael Slater, currently a commentator for Channel 4, decided that, following a spate of costly dropped catches, the object of his ire would be Australia’s coach, John Buchanan.”It makes me question their practice regimes at the moment, which is the coach’s responsibility,” he told The Courier Mail. “Are they practising with enough intensity, because if you don’t you won’t be able to take it on to the field. The big moments are taking those catches and Australia have prided themselves on taking even half-chances. It surprises me how many let-offs Australia are giving England.”Slater’s co-commentator, Geoffrey Boycott, pinned the blame on Jason Gillespie, the undoubted weak link in a hitherto invincible bowling attack. “Gillespie was ineffective and hardly moved the ball all day,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. “At this level of Test cricket you have to be able to swing or seam the ball or do something with it. It’s all right saying that Gillespie has a good reputation (but) all players have to live on facts and figures and Gillespie’s are not very good at this moment.””Any decision to axe Gillespie would be taken with a heavy heart,” said Ramsay, because he is “one of Australia’s most respected and best-loved players for his willingness to bowl his heart out in any conditions or circumstances,” but Peter Roebuck, in The Sydney Morning Herald, believed his form brooked no argument. “Jason Gillespie has looked a spent force and can no longer command a regular place in the side. Nor is it surprising. Not even the greatest sportsman can stop the clock.””It is way, way too early to gloat,” Matt Price, in The Australian, warned England’s fans. But it wasn’t too early for the vitriol to start spouting. “Adam Gilchrist seems to have morphed into Geraint Jones, spilling everything and appearing to have seven thumbs jammed into each margarine-coated glove. Perhaps the transformation has been mutual, so by the time you read this Jones will have knocked up 150 in a session to steer England to 700 and beyond.”But the real target of Price’s wrath was the most convenient scapegoat of all, Billy Bowden. “Bowden is a pain in the neck,” he raged. “I’ve never been the slightest bit enchanted by the New Zealand umpire’s contrived antics, leaping about and waving his arms like some kind of unco-ordinated, computer-generated tai chi exponent.”Officials should be permitted their quirks,” he conceded, “The Bucknor pause, the Shepherd hop. But Bowden oversteps the line between idiosyncratic and idiotic. Umpires, like children and John Howard’s backbenchers, should be seen and rarely heard.”

Sri Lanka 470 and 211 for 4 dec beat South Africa 189 and 179 (Dippenaar 59*, Boucher 51, Vaas 6-29) by 313 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Chaminda Vaas and Marvan Atapattu celebrate as South Africa lose their way early on the fifth morning© AFP

A superb display of swing bowling by Chaminda Vaas sent South Africa hurtling to a 313-run defeat at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, giving Sri Lanka a 1-0 series victory, their first over South Africa. Vaas gave Sri Lanka the early momentum on the fifth morning, taking two wickets, and then returned to finish off the South African innings for 179. He ended up with the exceptional figures of 6 for 29.The weather forecast for the day had been bleak, but Sri Lanka’s prayers were answered when dawn arrived bright and dry. Their morning got better, too, as South Africa started disastrously with three wickets tumbling for 14 runs in the first half-hour. Boeta Dippenaar (59 not out) and Mark Boucher (51) provided the main resistance, adding 101 for the sixth wicket. But another slide followed, and five wickets tumbled for 42 after lunch, as South Africa were bundled out for their lowest total against Sri Lanka.After an astonishing effort by the groundstaff to mop up in time after the heavy deluge the previous evening, Vaas needed just three balls to grab the prized wicket of Jacques Kallis, the one batsman that Sri Lanka feared could bat through the day. Kallis was unfortunate, as Vaas produced a wicked delivery that spat up from a good length to find the outside edge. Tillakaratne Dilshan was presented with the simplest of catches at second slip (24 for 3).Graeme Smith, meanwhile, was setting out his stall for a long rearguard. But in the fourth over of the day, he gloved an attempted pull off Lasith Malinga. The ball ballooned up off his thigh-pad and was caught at backward short leg. Five balls later, South Africa were left in complete disarray when Jacques Rudolph succumbed lamely for the second time in the match, top-edging a pull that sailed straight to Malinga on the long-leg fence (36 for 5).While the excited schoolchildren in the stands chanted “Go Lanka Go” in celebration, Dippenaar and Boucher quietly and efficiently dug in.They survived Vaas and Malinga’s early four-over bursts, and lookedsecure against the slow bowlers. The odd ball turned sharply and popped up,but there were no great alarms. The closest they came to being dismissed waswhen Malinga was drafted back into the attack for a short burst beforelunch. Finding some reverse-swing, he came perilously close to trappingDippenaar lbw when he had made 25.After lunch, Marvan Atapattu turned back to Vaas. Once again, he rose to the occasion and grabbed a much-needed breakthrough with a skilful legcutter that drew Boucher forward and nipped away enough to brush the edge. Romesh Kaluwitharana, whose glovework had been untidy throughout the match, very nearly let the ball pop out from his bright-yellow mitts (137 for 6).Having broken through, Sri Lanka pushed home their advantage. Next over, Shaun Pollock mistimed a clip off Dilshan’s part-time offspin and picked out Atapattu at short midwicket. Dilshan burst into an Olympian lap of celebration. But Vaas was the main hero and he soon worked through Nicky Boje’s defences with an indipper that pinned him in front. Two balls later, Makhaya Ntini departed for a duck after an airy waft (163 for 9). Malinga wrapped up proceedings with the wicket of Nantie Hayward, who knocked back the simplest of return catches.Sri Lanka’s series win reconfirmed their new-found confidence under Atapattu’s leadership, and lifts them to fifth position in the ICC Test rankings, behind Australia, England, Pakistan and India. South Africa, meanwhile, slide three places to sixth slot, their lowest ranking. Their ODI ranking will also be under threat when they start a five-match series on August 20. First, though, they have a few days to regroup.

It is a subject of feverish speculation as to how the portable pitch to be used in Darwin for Bangladesh’s historic international matches there will behave. Dav Whatmore, Bangadesh’s coach, believes that it might be a slow one.Speaking to ABC Radio, Whatmore said: “It’s a drop-in pitch. [There] seems to be some indication it might be slow but we’ll never really know until you start playing.”Bangladesh will not have to wait long to find out. On Friday they take on the Chief Minister’s XI, less than a week after their two-wicket win over the Commonwealth Bank Academy side. If Whatmore’s prognosis about the pitch is confirmed, they will face the Australian new-ball attack with somewhat more confidence than you’d expect from international cricket’s fledglings.Meanwhile the Chief Minister, Clare Martin, has announced the team to play Bangladesh. The local side has been bolstered by the inclusion of Michael Clarke, who will captain the team, and Australian allrounder Nathan Hauritz, who played for Queensland’s Academy XI in Bangladesh’s first tour game.”I wanted to give Territorians an opportunity to play against Bangladesh,” said Martin, “and I know a squad of local cricketers have been training in preparation for the match.”James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, said that the decision to include two CA-contracted players would help generate further interest in the game. Clarke and Hauritz have recently returned from the tour to West Indies and represent Australia’s next generation of players, having already played for the national side in one-day intenationals.Martin also renewed a call for volunteers, inviting Territorians to grab the opportunity to be involved in the staging of international cricket. She said that each volunteer would have an opportunity to watch the cricket after performing their duties, which would take up only three hours of their time. Apart from free entry, they would also receive a free polo shirt and hat, lunch and an opportunity to be involved in one of Territory’s major sporting events.Chief Minister’s XI squad
Michael Clarke (captain), Darren Treumer (vice-captain), Terry Bayly, Nick Berry, Anthony Dent, Mark Hatton, Brad Hatton, Nathan Hauritz, Tim Knox, Adrian McAdam, Ian Redpath, Ken Skewes, Ken Vowles, Ashley Williams.

Greg Mail has delivered the runs but he believes Stuart MacGill can deliver victory for NSW over South Australia in its Pura Cup match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.With two full days to play, NSW lead by 451 runs after finishing the second day at 9-415.Mail was unbeaten on 142 – his second first class century – anchoring a Blues attack which smashed 399 runs in the day.It was a remarkable turnaround from the first day when 20 wickets fell as NSW made 188 and the Redbacks replied with 142.Mail expected captain Shane Lee would declare in the morning, depriving the opener of being the first from NSW to carry his bat since Alan Turner 32 years ago.”I’d hope 450 will be enough runs,” Mail said.”The pitch is starting to crack up a little bit and there’s some variable bounce.”Peter McIntyre was turning the ball quite a bit today and I’m sure Stuart will turn it a lot – he can turn it on anything.”NSW resumed this morning with Mail on one and Michael Slater on 15. Throughout the day, Mail focused on building partnerships with some of his more illustrious team-mates.”The plan was for me to bat for a long time and to have other guys score runs around me.”A lot of our guys score quickly and pile on the shots – I just try to play to my limitations.”The tall 23-year-old formed significant partnerships with Slater (49), Mark Waugh (51), Mark Higgs (53) and MacGill (53). In each of those stands, Mail played the steady hand while his team-mates blazed quick half-centuries.And no half-century was faster than MacGill’s. He brought up his 50 off 26 balls, with seven fours and a six over midwicket off Darren Lehmann.In terms of time – 29 minutesit was the equal second-fastest half-century on record for NSW.Tibby Cotter took 18 minutes to score 50 in 1911-12 while the great Victor Trumper also took 29 minutes to reach the mark in 1905-06. No record of balls was available for those players.It was a wonderfully improvised knock by MacGill, who really had just one shot – an unorthodox swat which he could hit anywhere in the arc from cover-point tomidwicket.”I saw he was up there with Victor Trumper – no doubt we’ll be hearing about that for a while,” Mail said of his brash batting partner.In contrast, Mail took 202 minutes to bring up his half-century while his ton came up in a shade under five hours off 241 balls.His innings wasn’t without its mistakes – he survived a strong lbw appeal from Mark Harrity early in the day – but his edges all flew safely.He showed great concentration and judicial shot selection mixed with compact defence against an attack which struggled to create chances.He batted for 395 minutes and faced 299 balls, hitting 16 fours.Part-time spinner Lehmann was the leading wicket-taker for SA, with 3-42.

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has confirmed he will not play in the Big Bash League this year, having pulled out of his commitment to play for the Melbourne Stars. Clarke was to captain the side in the BBL this summer after signing a two-year contract in April, but following his retirement from Test cricket he has decided he needs some time away from the game.”Right now for I just think my body and my mind need some time away from the game of cricket,” Clarke told radio on Wednesday morning. “It’s been a big part of my life and I just think that with my retirement from international cricket now I just need to take myself away from the game of cricket for a little while and just see what that’s like to actually be without it.”You push yourself to the max when you’re playing sport at the highest level and now I’ve pressed stop on that part, in regards to international cricket, I just think my body and my mind just needs that break.”Clarke said he hoped to return to the field at some point in the future and would always remain involved in cricket in some way, having launched his own cricket academy last year. There is a chance he could yet play for the Stars in 2016-17.”I’ve got a two-year deal at the moment so hopefully it all turns out okay and I come back and play next year,” Clarke said, “but even if they decide they don’t want me to play, hopefully I can help the club have success in another way.”