"Just get to 100 wickets" - David Willey reveals conversation with his wife before ENG vs PAK 2023 World Cup clash

England seamer David Willey has revealed that his wife encouraged him to finish his international career in the most fitting way possible, taking 100 ODI wickets.

Willey was the pick of the bowlers against Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday, taking three wickets in his 10-over spell to bowl England to a 93-run win. The Northamptonshire cricketer dismissed Salman Agha for his 100th ODI scalp. Agha failed to clear mid-on and was caught by Ben Stokes for 51.

The left-arm seamer stated that 100 ODI wickets was a fitting end to his career and suggested that his retirement was due to not feeling valued enough by the board. As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he said:

"On the phone to my wife this morning, she said, 'Go on - just get to 100 wickets. It'd be a nice way to finish.' To do that was a nice way for me personally. I wasn't sure whether I was going to come to the World Cup, even to the 11th hour. The morning that we were joining up at Lord's, I still wasn't sure whether I'd make the trip or not."

"From then on, it [retirement] was something that was on my mind. It's not just that I haven't been offered a contract; it's how I feel valued as an England player, when I look down that list of other guys that have got contracts… I came to the decision that the time was right for me to call it a day."

The England Cricket Board (ECB) announced the central contracts per the revamped system, but Willey didn't receive one. In his column for The Telegraph, former England skipper Michael Vaughan also hit out at the board for not treating the veteran cricketer well enough.

"Never say never, but right now, I'm very confident in my decision" - David Willey

David Willey. (Image Credits: Getty)

David Willey hinted at the possibility of reversing his retirement in the near future but suggested that he has little faith in the board as of now. He added:

"[If there is] an injury or two, they're going to be calling on someone with very little to no experience in World Cups. Never say never, but right now, I'm very confident [in] my decision that today was my last game of cricket for England. Do I want to go to the Caribbean and run drinks, and not know where I stand, and just feel like a third wheel again - which is very much what I felt like when I turned up at Lord's, being the only one without a contract? Probably not, so I'm done."

The win over Pakistan ensured England's qualification in the 2025 Champions Trophy.