Michael Clarke Profile - All formet Records, Age, Career Info & Everything
Throughout his career, Michael Clarke was one of the select few Australian cricketers to witness his team's fortunes come full circle. He was a member of the unstoppable squad that ruthlessly destroyed opponents while he was a young prodigious talent, and as he grew older, the team started to seem a little older, which signalled that the heyday was about to end.
When he was finally named captain, it was time to rebuild, but his assertive style of management helped Australia win the World Cup in 2015 and temporarily rank first in Test matches in addition to an Ashes rout. His ODI retirement occurred at the conclusion of a successful season, whereas in Tests, it happened after a losing Ashes series.
When a teammate who was also very close to him went away, Clarke decided to take charge despite his own emotional breakdown. "Pup," as he is affectionately known, experienced all the highs and lows that are typical in the game.
Early in 2003, in the ODI format, Clarke first stormed the international stage as a blonde-haired, roving strokemaker. He possessed all the strokes in the book and excellent footwork against spinners, making him a fascinating combination to have in the side. His tremendous skill was easy to detect.
The early ODI success led to a Test debut for Clarke in 2004, and he began the longest format just as he did in the 50-over one. Ironically, for a player who was selected for his daring style of strokeplay, Clarke truly cemented his place in the squad in Test matches, although finishing with excellent statistics in ODIs as well.
However, he did go through some dry spells, especially in 2005 when Australia lost the Ashes in England and again in 2010–11 when the urn was misplaced, this time at home. When they weren't together, Clarke made plenty of runs and seemed to enjoy the challenge that came with being named captain in late 2011.
Without a question, Clarke's Test performance in 2012 was by far his greatest. With astounding ease, he recorded two triple tonnes and the same number of double tonnes in one year.
Following the retirements of Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, the Australian team was rebuilding when he scored some fantastic runs. He was, of course, the centre of the batting, and the pressure only appeared to improve his performance. The Ashes whitewash at home in 2013–14 was sweet retaliation for the humiliation in England that had occurred just six months earlier, despite the opening years of his captaincy not seeing much success.
He was more delighted that several players, including Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Brad Haddin, Steve Smith, and others, contributed to the victory. Clarke received some runs as well, but he didn't have to carry the load alone, which was a comfort to him. Australia rose to the top of the rankings after winning the Ashes and a difficult series in South Africa.
Despite receiving much praise for his aggressive leadership in Australia's Test victory, Clarke's ODI career was plainly in decline as a result of the persistent back problems he was dealing with.
He would frequently take holidays during the ODI legs of a series that was captained by George Bailey because of his passion for Test matches. The 2015 World Cup was to be hosted at home, therefore Clarke fought hard to qualify for the competition as the captain of the team. Nevertheless, he did have hopes of capping his 50-over career with a World Cup.
It won't be inaccurate to argue that he might not have been selected if he wasn't the team captain. The reason for this is that Australia's limited-overs team was full of players who could have a much greater influence than Clarke, whose white-ball skills had somewhat dipped despite his continued resourcefulness.
His underappreciated services throughout the years allowed him to captain a strong team that ultimately won the title at the MCG, biding their skipper a fond farewell from the competition.
Due to injuries, Clarke was unable to extend his Test career as much as he would have liked. Additionally, losing the Ashes has repercussions, and even though England only defeated him by a score of 2-3 at their home in 2015, he had already made up his mind to retire as soon as the series was over. Another element that could have affected Clarke's thinking was the rise of Steven Smith as a run scorer and prospective leader. During the home series against India, Smith temporarily served as captain in place of his captain.
With Phil Hughes' passing occurring soon before that series, and Australia's response of dedicating the World Cup victory to their late teammate, Clarke was also emotionally exhausted. As captain and a close friend of the Hughes family, Clarke was at the forefront of managing the situation. It was a deed that garnered admiration from all across the world.
The fact that Clarke retired from international cricket may have been influenced by his mental anguish and, more crucially, his ailments.
Clarke was primarily a batsman who enjoyed thrilling the crowd with his shot selection. However, as he demonstrated once in Mumbai with a 6-fer against the Indian turners, Clarke's bowling was more than handy. He was fairly precise and could generate adequate turn if the playing conditions helped the spinners. Back problems limited his bowling to some extent as his career went on, but they couldn't stop his amazing fielding.
He was a superb fielder who could be placed wherever on the pitch, like many Australians. He possessed a very strong arm and was nimble and acrobatic. This whole package is what first caught people's attention, and as time went on, Clarke's physical weaknesses forced him to limit his actual game-changing contributions to hitting. Perhaps, like many other players, he was a hesitant bowler when serving as captain.
As captain, Clarke wanted to advance the game, particularly in Test matches where he frequently made startling comments to pressure an outcome. Once, in order to get a few extra overs against the opposition late in the day, he even declared on the opening day of a Test match in India with scarcely a threatening total on the scoreboard. His leadership was purposeful, which was required to make up for the lack of fear his Australian team experienced in comparison to their forebears. Even while he didn't have a fantastic success rate as captain in the longest format, he definitely made it more fun. Despite all of his positive qualities as a captain, there were also some serious drawbacks.
There were frequently conflicts within the camp, and some players had publicly complained about Clarke's inability to get along with everyone equally. Because of his marginally aristocratic upbringing, the media also wondered whether he struggled with ego. There were some unpleasant occurrences under his leadership, such as the Homeworkgate episode during the 2013 tour of India.
Despite these drawbacks, Clarke made a significant contribution to both Australian and international cricket. Clarke's finest years as a batsman were a testament to what mental toughness can accomplish. He was a flashy batter who put perfect grit into his game.
Without quivering, he confronted the finest bowlers in their most brutal spells. His exploits against the South African pacers spring to mind right away, particularly towards the end of 2014 when he produced a great tonne while being subjected to Morne Morkel's bombardment. Despite having a stylish strokemaker when he entered the game, he struggled to adjust to the most recent T20 format as well as he would have liked to.
Although Clarke temporarily played in the Indian Premier League, he didn't quite find success there either. In addition to touring extensively for the same after his international retirement, he has been a frequent commentator on Channel 9.
Batting Career Summary
M Inn NO Runs HS Avg BF SR 100 200 50 4s 6s
Test 115 198 21 8643 329 48.83 15456 55.92 28 4 27 977 39
ODI 245 223 44 7981 130 44.59 10104 78.99 8 0 58 665 53
T20I 34 28 5 488 67 21.22 473 103.17 0 0 1 28 10
IPL 6 6 0 98 41 16.33 94 104.26 0 0 0 12 0
Bowling Career Summary
M Inn B Runs Wkts BBI BBM Econ Avg SR 5W 10W
Test 115 65 2435 1184 31 6/9 6/9 2.92 38.19 78.55 2 0
ODI 245 106 2585 2146 57 5/35 5/35 4.98 37.65 45.35 1 0
T20I 34 15 156 225 6 1/2 1/2 8.65 37.5 26.0 0 0
IPL 6 5 66 67 2 1/12 1/12 6.09 33.5 33.0 0 0
Personal Information
Born Apr 02, 1981 (42 years)Birth PlaceLiverpool, New South WalesHeight1.78 mRoleBatsmanBatting StyleRight Handed BatBowling StyleLeft-arm orthodox