Clarke, Cook and Consistency

Captaincy in cricket has recently become like our Indian team. Win or lose, you will never get unnoticed. From the days where an opening batsman had seven slips, to this day, where you see a deep point on the first ball of the match, captaincy has changed.

However, one age adage, which never goes out of fashion is “lead by example”. In recent times, both Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke have done that and much more.

SYDNEY, AUS – JAN 05, 2012: Michael Clarke of Australia celebrates his triple century during day three of the Second Test Match between Australia and India at the SCG.

There’s hardly any difference in the way they started their careers. It all started in 2004, when Clarke scored a century on his debut against India. Two years later, Cook showed his class when he scored on his debut against the same opponent. Both these young prodigies seemed to have the fire in them to lead from the front.

Being the vice-captain for some time, Clarke seemed ideal for stepping into the shoes of Ricky ‘Punter’ Ponting. Nicknamed ‘Pup’, he had to bring all his experience to lead a down and out Australian team with a weak bowling attack, which was always scouting for a spinner. Not to mention the fact that he was also presented with an inconsistent battling line-up.

Simon Katich’s allegations against Michael Clarke in 2011 prior to their dressing room incident led to crowds at Brisbane and Melbourne  booing their skipper. Katich described him as ‘soft’ and having an ‘unaustralian’ attitude but Clarke was quick to silence his critics. He took his batting to a whole new level and scored a mammoth 329 against India at the SCG as the Aussies conquered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in a 4-0 whitewash.

The Aussie skipper continued his prolific form with the bat in 2012, scoring four double hundreds, including consecutive ones against South Africa. His form with the bat showed in the field as well. Clarke was an aggressive and an attacking skipper. And with recent skippers always getting a bit too defensive in the Tests, Clarke always looked to attack and take wickets.

He has used Nathan Lyon very effectively, always backing his lead spinner and encouraging him to bowl wicket taking deliveries. The New South Wales batsman also tossed the ball to part-timers Mike Hussey, David Warner, and even wicket-keeper Matthew Wade in their home series against SA. And even though they lost the series to the Proteas, the Australian team displayed great spirit in the field, where they almost went on to win the 2nd match. It was a perfect start to 2013, as Clarke’s team completed a 3-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka.

Whilst Clarke relishes his presence on the center stage, Alastair Cook has always been in limelight, right from the time he replaced Marcus Trescothick and scored a century against India on his debut. The current England skipper is the perfect example of  determination and patience. Former England captain and the current England coach, Graham Gooch, hailed Alastair Cook for his fighting spirit shown right from the start of his career.

Replacing Andrew Strauss as stand-in-skipper against the no-longer-minnows Bangladesh, Cook only elevated his game to another level; his captaincy as composed as his batting. Starting his reign in the sub-continent, the England skipper faced an intimidating tour of India, which had been haunting them for the past 28 years.

The media labelled this the revenge series after England thrashed India in 2011. England’s constant failure to play spin proved right as they were comprehensively beaten by India in Ahmedabad. While it seemed history is not going to be rewritten, Cook and his colleagues won the second and the third match and managed to draw the fourth one to win the series 2-1. This England team ended the 28-year drought, much to the agony of thousands of frantic Indian fans.

Cook was the man of the tournament. Cook’s technique inspired the other English Batsmen as he was quick to understand the conditions and straight away started with 2 spinners, including Monty in the line-up. Cook’s move paid-off as Panesar and Swann rattled an out-of-form Indian batting line up. James Anderson used the old ball to good effect, swinging it both ways to keep the batsmen on their toes. Cook’s enduring ability to focus for long hours with the bat also helped his batsmen, and by the end of that series, all the top-order batsmen contributed. The skipper’s unruffled approach calmed the team, and his team got the perfect Christmas present.

LONDON, ENG – FEB 12, 2010: Alastair Cook ,the England captain poses for a picture during the captains press conference at Lords.

Although there is a still a long way to go for both Clarke and Cook, the future of these 2 teams in the longer formats lies in their hands. Clarke’s next challenge against India will test him as a captain, especially without the services of Punter and Hussey. Cook will look to clinch the ODI series against India, which they are currently trailing 1-2.

Although there is a still a long way to go for ‘The Ashes’, it will be a intriguing battle of the minds between these two captains.Though each have their own style, it will arguably be a fiery battle between them.