adminBrighton Zhawi
While Solomon Mire had already decided to quit One Day Internationals and Tests, he wanted to continue playing T20Is but the on-going domestic cricket off-field feud seems to have pushed him to the edge.
The 29-year-old made the decision with a heavy heart and revealed that he fell sick the day after announcing his retirement.
“Well, the first day was actually spent in Ireland as I had to catch a different flight back to Australia the day after everyone had left.
“I caught some bug and was sneezing all over the place. l was not well over the next few days,” said Mire.
He said while his teammates urged him to bat on, circumstances forced him to hang his international boots.
“I spoke to a few players on the day I first thought of making the announcement. They reacted with disbelief and shock and asked me what had prompted that decision.
“They tried to convince me to take some time before making the announcement and reminded me that I was a vital member of the team.
“I told them I would reconsider and that they would know my final decision at the end of the trip along with everyone else.
“Initially I had told them I was only going to retire from Test and ODIs and play T20s until the qualifiers to try and help out but when I went back and thought about it more, I was firm in my decision.
“I don’t think anyone knew I was going to stop playing all formats,” Mire said
Mire, who hails from Kadoma and is based in Australia, earned two Test caps, 47 ODIs and nine T20s.
He bows out as Zimbabwe’s record holder of the highest individual T20 score of 94 achieved against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club in 2018.
It’s a record that makes him smile.
“I’m proud for sure, though I’ve never been a numbers guy.
“Making an impact and helping out the team to a strong position to win was my playing goal and hitting the ball hard was an enjoyable part of it.
“Ultimately I am grateful for those moments when I was hitting the ball so well and making some people in the stands happy.”
Mire intends to be the ‘T20 gun for hire’ in several gigs around the world’.
“At 29, I think it would be foolish of me to completely drop the tools. I’ll continue to play in some capacity.
“I haven’t done it yet but I’ll have to reset my goals as soon as possible, that will guide me on how to proceed going forward. But I’m sure I won’t turn down any opportunities to play in other leagues if they come,” he said.
Mire quit international cricket at a time he was experiencing a dip in form, failing to score a 50 in his last 29 innings.
“I’ll take full blame for my inconsistent performances. I should have taken more ownership of my game and stuck to my strengths.
“I have reflected on this a lot and I definitely think it wasn’t a rut. I gave up my strengths along the way and ended up tentative and hesitant. Ultimately I lost an edge and the ability to be an impactful player due to one factor or the other. I went from a guaranteed quick 30 or 40 to struggling to even get a start.
.”However, that’s not a regret, it’s a lesson I’ll take with me and hopefully someone else reading this will also take a leaf from my experiences,” said Mire.
Online Reporter