Michael Clarke - Is the end very near?

[Pete Cash]

The praise is coming thick and fast, but I've never really liked Clarke. The way he ended Simon Katich's career was nothing shy of disgusting.

The selectors need to cop some blame there too.

Clarke was a good test batsman and a pretty good captain. Off the field he made some blunders.

Gideon haigh when Ponting retired wrote Australia has traded in a captain who doesn't give a f**k about what anyone thinks of him for a captain who really really does. That's going to run people the wrong way. There is a romantic image of the Australian captain and Clarke did not fit.

More creative than Ponting but he had some issues exposed this series. He was way too hyperactive not letting the bowlers build pressure for example.

He should be remembered as a monster in Australia, a creative but not perfect captain and a guy who had issues with man management.

 

[JJ]

Michael Clarke is all about Michael Clarke - he loves the limelight, Katich obviously saw it for what it was. This retirement, timed to steal thunder from Cook et al., the one before the WC final (contrast with Vetorri) - both prefaced with "I hope this doesn't take anything away from xxx"

There are many examples, but he needs to be in front of the cameras, he needs to be the one the attention is on - a lot like Warne in most ways tbh

Very good player, no question - not great imo, good captain (but the media [Warne especially] love the innovative stuff - McCullum gets the same)

 

[THE CHAMP]

A year too late at least
The katich thing was a disgrace.
Was always a worry when he was walking out needing runs.
One of australias most over rated players ever

 

[THE CHAMP]

A year too late at least
The katich thing was a disgrace.
Was always a worry when he was walking out with runs needed
One of australias most over rated players ever

 

[BunniesMan]

The praise is coming thick and fast, but I've never really liked Clarke. The way he ended Simon Katich's career was nothing shy of disgusting.

Blaming Clarke for anything relating to Katich is ridicuous. Nobody knows what really happened there. There are 2 sides to every story. Just like you I don't know the facts but I bet the guilt doesn't solely sit with Clarke and Katich is not an innocent angel.

 

[WaznTheGreat]

England have had a much better fast bowling unit since 05. So you can't compare. It would be like saying an English opener pre Atherton was better against Australia without taking into account Atherton had to face McGrath.

Obviously you love Mark Waugh but a middle order batsman should be cashing in more often. He has nearly as many 50s as Ponting from less games but half the centuries.

Steve Finn,Steve Harmison,Mark Wood,Matthew Hoggard,Andrew Flintoff etc etc etc were not better bowlers than Darren Gough or Andy Caddick brah,most certainly not.

 

[Pete Cash]

Steve Finn,Steve Harmison,Mark Wood,Matthew Hoggard,Andrew Flintoff etc etc etc were not better bowlers than Darren Gough or Andy Caddick brah,most certainly not.

I disagree.

Hoggard, Flintoff and harmison bowled out of their skins in 05. That said you have conveniently left out Broad and Anderson.

 

[WaznTheGreat]

Jimmy and Broad have the same bowling averages as Gough and Caddick,Gough and Caddick actually played in an era where Aussies could play swing and didn't throw there wickets away like the current donkeys giving Broad and Jimmy easy wickets.

 

[Pete Cash]

Logically if you are going to add 10 to 15 runs to a batsman's average because they batted when it was harder to bat then you need to minus 10 to 15 runs from modern day bowlers because its harder to bowl now.

The point being he was not interested in building an innings. A highest score of 150 and 47 half centuries to 20 centuries.

He played a lot more First class cricket than Ricky Ponting and scored way more 50s but less centuries.

 

[WaznTheGreat]

Logically if you are going to add 10 to 15 runs to a batsman's average because they batted when it was harder to bat then you need to minus 10 to 15 runs from modern day bowlers because its harder to bowl now.

The point being he was not interested in building an innings. A highest score of 150 and 47 half centuries to 20 centuries.

He played a lot more First class cricket than Ricky Ponting and scored way more 50s but less centuries.

Fair enough homie:thumb

 

[Pete Cash]

You weren't wrong when you mentioned making money because back in the day Australian cricketers looking to make cash money from cricket had to play county cricket instead of IPL. Mark Waugh had a 14 year career playing for Essex so of course he is going to play better in England than guys fresh off the plane.

 

[Lynoman]

You're not getting innings like this overseas under pressure from Hayden or Hussey with a series on the line

https://youtu.be/HjqgqeKpfnI

Windies

https://youtu.be/gyGkWtlIu9s

South Africa

Steve was always my favourite but god Mark was a gorgeous batsman.

Of note, highlights from the first match from Premier Sports, the very first Australian pay tv sports channel.

 

[undertaker]

Although Clarke has already announced his retirement after the final test and Steve Smith has been anointed as the captain to take over starting from the tour of Bangladesh, I still stand by my original statement in the previous match thread, and that is it will be very interesting to see what happens if, like Matthew Hayden in 2005 and Mike Hussey in 2009, the very small chance that Clarke scores a century at The Oval (especially a big 150+) and whether or not the selectors will then try to talk him out of retirement and get him to play until end of summer (albeit with Smith as captain), or if approached with that situation from the selectors, whether Clarke will backfire and say something along the lines of "stuff you guys! You wanted me out of the side in the first place, and all this rubbish months ago of trying to get me to prove my fitness during the World Cup, you got your wish....and now you want me back?"

 

[Twizzle]

The praise is coming thick and fast, but I've never really liked Clarke. The way he ended Simon Katich's career was nothing shy of disgusting.

He's being savaged by a few of them as well.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...his-innings-over/story-fnihsrf2-1227476552379

Anything to sell news papers

 

[Red Bear]

Very good batsmen before the injuries finished him off. Very good captain I thought. Better to go now than eek out an extra two years in the hope there's a soft series in there for some run scoring (which the Windies could well have been).

As for his leadership, I'm unsure. There's all sorts of dressing room stories I have heard that don't paint him in a great light. On the other hand he went up a long way in my estimation during the Phil Hughes tragedy, he really put his neck out for that family and shouldered a pretty enormous public burdon.

Pretty concerned about our batting lineup in the next little while.

 

[benched tiger]

His innings in the 4th test really were hard to watch,it was as if he was channeling Jim Higgs,he was that scratchy...!
Clearly the signs were visible for this team but management chose to ignore them,Pup,Watto,Hadds have all been in a period of decline with the bat, while S.Marsh and Vogues just dont seem to be up to ever being reliable test cricketers.
The big concern we have atm is do we have anyone that can fill the vacancies adequately let alone successfully.

 

[The Charlatan]

Voges 130* against the Windies appears to be anomalous.

Pretty safe to say he isn't going to appreciate with age ala Hussey. Everyone in the top/middle order is suspect, save Smith.

 

[Timbo]

Also Warner. He's not been great this series but not only is he safe, I'm expecting him to be named Smiths vice-captain.

If Watson has a red line through his name and M.Marsh is clearly not up to test standard, I'd like to hope they go for either Faulkner or Henriques at 6 or 7 as the all-rounder, with Nevill batting either 6 or 7 alongside them. We could have three very young, raw top order batsmen in there during the Bangladesh tour and having a couple of guys who have been around for a while could hopefully add stability.

 

[The Charlatan]

I'd keep Warner only because when he's at his best he's virtually guaranteed to pick up a ton.

 

[undertaker]

Very good batsmen before the injuries finished him off.
.

Clarke ran high on emotion for a period, pulled off that century in the first match at Adelaide after Phil Hughes died before succumbing to hamstring problems, then came back with two 50s in the World Cup, including 74 in the final. A shame he wasn't not out at the end, as he thoroughly deserved to finish not out at the crease with Steve Smith. He dedicated Australia's World Cup success to Hughes, and although he had the desire to continue playing until the 2017/18 Ashes, I always had huge doubts about that: not just with the chronic injuries, but more importantly whether or not he'd be able to sustain his interest and passion in cricket for another 2 1/2yrs after the profound effect Hughes' death had on him. It reminded me a lot of Greg Alexander after his brother Ben died in a car crash. Despite how talented he was and the glimpses of brilliance he showed later on at the Auckland Warriors and the fact he was still relatively young, only 27 when Ben died in 1992, Greg was never the same player after Ben's death and I think a lot of that, like Clarke, had to do with the impact the death of a close friend (and in Greg's case, his brother) had on his will and desire to want to succeed in rugby league. It's a shame the peak period of his career was cut short because of that.

Since the World Cup, it felt like Clarke's general enthusiasm and passion to play cricket has completely gone right out the window. In the 12 test innings since that century in Adelaide, he has only scored 236 runs @ 21.45, with a highest score of 47, he always looked uncomfortable at the crease when batting (not so much physically, but mentally). It'd be great if Clarke could salvage a century at The Oval, but if he bows out meekly with more low innings, it will be a shame that his playing career has been slightly tarnished by what's happened over the past year.