The world's best? Clarke's sheer weight of runs poses argument..

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Well there was Ponting's mid 20's average for two years now he's scoring runs for fun at 4. Clarke was not scoring at 4 now he's scoring runs at 5.

Lol not the best time to ask that question

 

[JJ]

why do you assume that moving anyone's batting position will affect their form ?

It shouldn't... at the moment Ponting is effectively 3, CLarke 4 anyway...

but if you stay with the current 4,5, and 6 then new players have to establish themselves at 3 - and that's relatively tough - Ponting was blooded lower, and I'd have thought that would be the sensible thing to do with Khawaja (who looks the best of the options I have seen).

To me the real problem is an over-rated veteran former opener, who's never been much good outside of Aust batting at #6... he should gracefully retire, or shift up the order... but what seems likley is that when Watson is fit, he bats 3?

 

[Horrie Is God]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/australia/australia-captain-michael-clarke-shares-top-spot-on-the-iccs-batsmen-rankings-with-ab-de-villiers/story-fn2mcu3x-1226314897929

Australia captain Michael Clarke shares top spot on the ICC's batsmen rankings with AB de Villiers..

AAP March 30, 2012 9:13PM

Michael Clarke ... back on top of the world after his stellar series against India. Source: Tony Ashby / AFP

Australia captain Michael Clarke's sparkling form with the willow was rewarded with the No.1 spot on the International Cricket Council's batsmen rankings.

The ICC released their updated rankings on Friday, with Clarke and South Africa's AB de Villiers sharing top spot on the batting list.

Clarke, who will return from a hamstring injury on Australia's Test tour of the West Indies, shot to the top due to his tally of 626 runs in his side's 4-0 home Test series rout of India.

It is the second time Clarke has headed the batting table, having first topped the batting list in August 2009 after he scored 93 against England in Australia's victory by an innings and 80 runs in the Leeds Test.

Shane Watson's successful return from injury lifted him to No.4 on the allrounder rankings, while Peter Siddle advanced one place to be the fourth-best bowler.

Australia have a chance to gain, at least, one place on the Test rankings when they take on the West Indies in the three-Test series starting in Bridgetown on April 7.

A series win will lift Australia ahead of India in third position, while a 3-0 series win will put Australia on equal points with England - if England loses 2-0 to Sri Lanka.

Proteas spearhead Dale Steyn remained the No.1-ranked bowler, but compatriot Vernon Philander jumped 11 places to fifth position.

Philander claimed match figures of 10-114 in Hamilton and 6-110 in Wellington in his side's Test series win over New Zealand.

 

[Twizzle]

nice one pup

 

[aussies1st]

Congrats Pup. And wow who would have thought we could return to number 1 so soon.

 

[hineyrulz]

Good to see a blue back at the top of the rankings

 

[Red Bear]

It shouldn't... at the moment Ponting is effectively 3, CLarke 4 anyway...

but if you stay with the current 4,5, and 6 then new players have to establish themselves at 3 - and that's relatively tough - Ponting was blooded lower, and I'd have thought that would be the sensible thing to do with Khawaja (who looks the best of the options I have seen).

To me the real problem is an over-rated veteran former opener, who's never been much good outside of Aust batting at #6... he should gracefully retire, or shift up the order... but what seems likley is that when Watson is fit, he bats 3?

We preferred shifting him around then giving him the blame rather than asking tough questions about the senior two, who proceded to fill their boots against India - would've been interesting to see how Khawaja would've gone against them (although his form since hasnt been great, hoping he can turn it around).

 

[TheParraboy]

Nice to see Pup no1 in the test match batting ranking, however id say a bit of this success is him ditching the 20/20 stuff. Now he is going to play IPL (after WI tour).

I dont understand it (other than a grab for easy cash). Would rather he rest up and concentrate on ODI and tests.

Would there be a possibility he comes back to captain the t20 side for the t20 world cup if he does well in the IPL? Could that be a motive playing there?

 

[Twizzle]

I think that would be a big step backwards for him but money talks

 

[Horrie Is God]

I reckon he's only playing IPL this year because we've got bugger all cricket this winter..

May as well have a hit & giggle for a couple of games for a million clams..

 

[Earl]

I think we might be jumping the gun here.

All this personal & team success, rises in the rankings etc has come on the back of a good run in home test matches as well as the decline in oppisition playing matches which have absolutely no direct relation to the games we play.

I hope we don't get ahead of ourselves because there is a chance we could come crashing back down in a few away test matches.

 

[beads6]

I reckon he's only playing IPL this year because we've got bugger all cricket this winter..

May as well have a hit & giggle for a couple of games for a million clams..

Exactly, and why can't he play the IPL? :crazy:

 

[vvvrulz]

On the topic... Clarke's 151 against South Africa was a masterpiece. His run glut against the useless Indians however shouldn't be getting everyone overexcited. He need to prove himself in the next Ashes and against Pakistan before he should be considered number one.

Good batsman, yes. Somewhere in the top ten for sure.
World's best? Absolutely not.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Clarke embodies everything that is perfect about Cricket - he is from NSW.

 

[TV Ted Ellery]

Clarke embodies everything that is perfect about Cricket - he is from NSW.

That's what i used to think about Steve Nikitaras.

 

[hineyrulz]

Clarke embodies everything that is perfect about Cricket - he is from NSW.

Damn straight

 

[TheParraboy]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/563147.html

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has regained the No.1 ranking for Test batsmen after nearly three years. Chanderpaul was the leading run-scorer in the recently concluded home Test series against Australia with 346 runs at an average of 86.50. Australia, after winning the series 2-0, moved up to No. 3 in the ICC Test rankings, replacing India.

Chanderpaul reached the top after his twin half-centuries in the final Test in Dominica, moving ahead of the South African duo of Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers. He also passed the 10,000-run mark in the series.


Chanderpaul last attained the No. 1 ranking in July 2008 and held it for seven months. He briefly dropped to No. 2 in February 2009, but returned to the top spot three Tests later, after the fifth Test against England in Trinidad. In May 2009 he lost his spot to Pakistan batsman Younis Khan. Chanderpaul's ranking slipped to as low as No. 15 before he made his way back up.

"It feels good to be back in the top spot in Test cricket," Chanderpaul said. "I am batting well at the moment, and when things are going well for you at the crease, you try to keep going and building and look to make the most of every innings you play."

Australia began their tour of the West Indies on equal points with India. The win gave them a one-point lead over India.

 

[Horrie Is God]

Clarke is making the move to 3 in ODI's..

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-australia-2012/content/current/story/578959.html

Clarke moves up to No. 3..

Daniel Brettig
August 23, 2012

Australia's captain Michael Clarke is expected to promote himself to the pivotal No. 3 spot in the ODI batting order for the matches against Afghanistan and Pakistan in the UAE, with Michael Hussey's return to add greater ballast to the touring middle order.

Clarke walked to the crease at No. 3 in both the trial matches played during Australia's pre-season camp in Darwin, and ESPNcricinfo understands that he is now inked to remain there as the team's best limited overs option in the position.

Having returned from parental leave that ruled him out of the dire ODI tour of England, Hussey will bat at Nos. 4 or 5, leaving the Twenty20 captain George Bailey and David Hussey to round out the top six.

Since Ricky Ponting lost form and was dropped from the ODI team during the triangular series last Australian summer, No. 3 has been something of a problem position for the limited overs team, as the vice-captain Shane Watson, Peter Forrest, Bailey and Matthew Wade have all been tried there with limited degrees of success.

When fit, Clarke has retained the No. 4 spot he occupied beneath Ponting for some years, and in England did so despite the clear inadequacy of Forrest in particular to handle the challenges posed by the home attack. At the time, Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur believed that Hussey's absence from the middle order meant the captain could not afford to be any higher than No. 4, the better to have some influence on the later passages of an innings.

Clarke has a sound ODI record in his limited appearances at No. 3, averaging 36.20 in 18 matches and making one century, an unbeaten 111 against India in Vizag in 2010, when he was stand-in captain. He is now set to make the move a permanent one.

Australia's acting coach for the first part of the tour, Steve Rixon, said the tourists would be playing their best team against Afghanistan and Pakistan, intent on building consistency and confidence in the ODI unit. The series follows a 12-month period that has veered from strong results in Sri Lanka and South Africa, to a halting triumph in the triangular series at home, a shared encounter in the West Indies and the abject 4-0 defeat in England.

"We've got one tournament leading into another, which a lot of these guys will be doubling up in, from [ODIs] here into T20 over here into the big one over in Sri Lanka," Rixon said. "So we are conscious of that, however, first things first we need to win these one dayers so we'll be looking at our very best side. We need to look at the wicket, see exactly what we've got … when we see what the wicket looks like we'll assess our options, and our options are pretty good at the moment.

"You have to really be looking at your own backyard, and our own backyard is how we're going to play best in these conditions. Regardless of the opposition, it's how David Warner is going to combat a turning wicket, or how Michael Clarke's going to play against the opposition in Dubai, that's the way we set ourselves up."

The opening match against Afghanistan will be a chance for the Australians to witness how quickly the strife-torn country has developed a brave and opportunistic limited overs team. Though he expected the tourists to win, Rixon said he and the players were enlivened by the chance to encounter a rising nation.

"Afghanistan has come in as a minor competitor, but they are competing at the top level, so we've got to go in with a lot of respect for the opposition, but we'd like to think we go in with the upper hand to be able to beat them in these conditions with the side we have," Rixon said. "I like the idea that minor nations are getting the opportunity to come in and play against the big boys, I think that's great for cricket and the culture of the game.

"We've only just got some [videos] recently so I'll have a little look at that. I'm sure they'll go in with a 'we've got nothing to lose' attitude, which is an outstanding way to play it, but we're also going in as a side that's been No. 1 for a long time and we want to get back to No. 1 and make every post a winner. We have to do what we do well, and if we do that then I think we'll be good enough."

Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.

 

[Twizzle]

rehearsal for the No 3 test spot

about time

 

[Horrie Is God]

He has just been named captain of the ICC's Test team of the year..

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/australia/australia-skipper-michael-clarke-named-skipper-of-iccs-test-team-of-the-year/story-fn2mcu3x-1226461869355

Australia skipper Michael Clarke named captain of ICC's Test team of the year..

By Greg Buckle AAP August 30, 2012 5:02PM

Australia's Michael Clarke has been named captain of the ICC's Test team of the year.

Clarke has also been shortlisted for Test player of the year and the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the year, with the awards to be announced in Colombo on September 15.

Clarke has led Australia's resurgence in Test cricket since replacing Ricky Ponting as captain last year, highlighted by a resounding 4-0 series win over India at home.

Clarke crashed 626 Test runs against India, including an unbeaten 329 at the SCG.

The 31-year-old was the only Australian named in the ICC's Test XI.

"I found out via a text message this morning from a mate just saying congratulations," Clarke told a media conference in Abu Dhabi.

"It's certainly an honour to be named in the Test team of the year, let alone be captain.

"To be nominated for the other awards is something you don't really think about as an individual player.

"It's very pleasing. It was a surprise to me to wake up this morning and see that text message.

"But my focus is solely on this series and Australia having success in these three one-dayers against Pakistan."

South Africa's Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara are the other three nominees for the Sobers Trophy.

Amla and Philander were joined by fellow South Africans Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn in the Test team of the year.

Australia pace bowler James Pattinson has been shortlisted for the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year award.

Australia's Lisa Sthalekar and Alyssa Healy have been nominated for the ICC Women's T20 International Cricketer of the Year.

Simon Taufel and Rod Tucker have been nominated for The David Shepherd Trophy for umpire of the year.