Ashes 2015: Will selectors give Michael Clarke the same treatment as Brad Haddin and Shane Watson?
Birmingham: A hallmark of Michael Clarke's Test captaincy has always been his leading by example on the ground, from his much-admired tactical nous to his contributions with the bat.
His appointment in 2011 triggered an incredible surge in run-scoring over the next two years that made him not only far and away Australia's best batsman but the finest in the world. It was almost as if he had grown another leg with the responsibility of being captain on his shoulders
Right now, however, it's as if Clarke has the weight of the world on them, scratching his way through in the midst of a form slump that threatens to prematurely end his career.
Another cheap dismissal on a shocking first day of the third Test for Australia is beginning to raise questions about his future. The primary one is this: if Clarke can not rediscover some ounce of form for the remainder of this series, is this the end?
In a campaign that has already seemingly brought about the closure of the Test careers of Shane Watson and Brad Haddin Clarke, in his current guise, is in danger of being next.
You can't imagine he, particularly as captain, could go midway through a series like this, especially given that another of the thirtysomethings, Adam Voges, is also short of runs in the middle order.
Yet selectors, far from best friends with Clarke in recent times, will have to grapple with the subject of his future soon enough if the 34-year-old cannot emerge from a rut - and particularly in the event that Australia do not win this Ashes series.
He was bowled on Wednesday playing down the wrong line to a fullish ball delivered by the resurgent and recalled England bowler Steven Finn. On a day that didn't go to plan he'd also won the toss and batted on a seaming deck at Edgbaston, only for James Anderson to rip the Australians apart.
As much as that blew up in the tourists' faces Clarke remains a fine captain and his major dramas rest right now with the bat. He made only 10 on day one, continuing a lean stretch since he returned to the side from hamstring surgery. Going back further, though, the outlook doesn't look great either: in the past 12 months only one top-four player in the world (who's played 10 or more innings) has a worse average than Clarke's 28.63. That is Ian Bell, who the Australians played into some form when he scored 53 on Wednesday.
The numbers aren't the only issue for him, though. It's how he's getting them. He was again streaky in his short-lived stay in the middle on day one at Edgbaston, during which he had a run-in with England's destroyer-in-chief James Anderson, the target of his infamous "Get ready for a broken f------- arm" tirade at the Gabba 18 months ago.
"We just had a chat," Anderson said of this more mild altercation. "He just nicked one through the slips and I might have called him a lucky devil and he was in agreement."
Clarke's footwork has been a noticeable shortcoming in previous outings in this series but Ricky Ponting, his predecessor as Test captain, is not willing to write him off yet.
"Michael Clarke needs to stand up and start making some runs in that middle order," Ponting told ESPNCricinfo on Wednesday. "If he doesn't then the lower order does look more fragile.
"He doesn't look to be in the sort of form that we're used to seeing Michael Clarke in but none of us ever are. You go through these ups and downs and little troughs in your career and you've just got to find a way to battle through it. Hopefully that's in the second innings of this game."
Given how quickly the third Test moved along on the first day that could even come as early as Thursday.
