Adam Voges retires from Tests with batting average of 61.87

Adam Voges, the veteran Australian batsman, announced his retirement from international cricket Wednesday, per reports. Voges will finish his career with a Test batting average second only to the great Sir Donald Bradman.

After earning the Baggy Green during Australia’s tour of West Indies in 2015, Voges developed into a consistent middle-order batsman who registered nine scores of 50+ in just 31 Test innings from 20 matches. He finished with two double-hundreds, an unbeaten knock of 269 against the West Indies at Hobart, and another double ton against New Zealand at Wellington in Feb. 2016. Voges also played a key role in Australia's innings and 46 runs victory over England in the fifth and final Ashes Test in the summer of 2015. The rest of his three Test centuries also came against New Zealand and West Indies, the two opponents he feasted against.

Adam Voges Test batting average: 61.87

Besides emerging as the oldest player (35) to score a century on Test debut, Voges will sign off with a total of 1,485 runs at an average of 61.87, eclipsing the likes of Graeme Pollock (60.97), George Headley (60.83) and Herbert Sutcliffe (60.73) for the second-greatest batting average in history. Of course, Bradman's average of 99.94 has stood the test of time.

Voges, who also played 31 one-day-internationals for Australia, lost his place in the Test squad after his team's disastrous home series against South Africa last November. Soon after, Voges was struck by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield game and began to re-asses his future in the sport.

"This will be it for me. I'm certainly looking forward to getting out there and playing this game. I've had an amazing couple of years with Australia with the Test team and I've loved every minute of it. I see this as a last opportunity to play against an international team and I'm certainly looking forward to that," Voges told reporters ahead of his final first-class game at Canberra on Wednesday. Voges will lead the Prime Minister's XI against Sri Lanka's touring party.

According to ESPNCricinfo, Voges' "batting average, after the tour of New Zealand, stood at 95.50 after 15 Tests. It fell to 61.87 after sub-par series against Sri Lanka away and South Africa at home, but he ends his career, nonetheless, with the second-highest average - behind only Don Bradman -- among all batsmen with a minimum of 20 Tests." Australia will host Sri Lanka for three twenty-20 internationals starting with the first game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.