Dhaka: One of Australia’s most maligned players says he didn’t achieve everything he wanted to in the baggy green but bows out of the game knowing that he gave his heart and soul for his country, reported The Australian.

An emotional Watson addressed teammates in London on Sunday morning, before he flies home due to a calf strain which has ruled him out of the remainder of the ODI series against England.

Watson was dropped from the Test side after the first Ashes Test and after weeks of deliberating whether to fight on, decided it was time to go.

‘It’s been a decision that hasn’t come over the last month especially but I just know it’s the right time to be able to move on and still play shorter forms of the game one dayers and Twenty20s. That’s the decision I’ve come to over a lot of thought,’ Watson said with a quiver in his voice.

‘It’s been for the last month something I’ve thought about a lot and I’ve been through a lot of different waves of emotion as well of what the right thing is for myself, my family and most importantly the team as well and over the last couple of days there was a lot of clarity of what the right decision was.

‘I just know I’ve given everything I possibly can to get the best out of myself and I just know it’s the right time to move on. I don’t have that real fight in me especially for Test cricket knowing the lengths physically, mentally I have to go to to be at my best again in Test cricket.’

Watson retires as a veteran of 59 Tests, with four hundreds and an average of 35.19.