Michael Clarke – A sportive skipper of a sinking ship

Michael Clarke at the end of the 5th Ashes Test at The Oval

James Anderson‘s delivery to Michael Clarke in the first Test in Nottingham was the textbook definition of perfect – it pitched on a good length, and then shaped away just the right amount to kiss the off stump. Clarke had to walk back flabbergasted, knowing that there was nothing much he could have done – the delivery was simply unplayable.

That ball was almost an indication of the future, a sign of things to come, for it mirrored the tale of the rest of the series – just like Clarke had absolutely no answer to Anderson’s sheer class and skill on that fateful evening, Australia was thoroughly outplayed by England in almost every aspect possible throughout the summer.

A relentless series of nightmares have plagued Australia over the course of the last few months – close to everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. To make matters worse, just as they began to recover from one disaster, another one promptly struck and drove them back to square one.

First, David Warner threw a punch at young Joe Root in a local watering hole in Birmingham. And so, he had to be banned. Then, Australia crashed out of the Champions Trophy. Something had to be done, and Cricket Australia hastily sacked Coach Mickey Arthur.

Arthur sued CA for $4 million, and went on to make explosive allegations, stating that skipper Michael Clarke termed Shane Watson a “cancer” in the team. Then, the injuries struck – James Pattinson was ruled out of the rest of the Ashes after his body could not handle two Tests on the trot, and Jackson Bird went flying back home because of a back problem.

Clarke has had to face many challenges on this tour, both on and off the field

Meanwhile, Australia continued to lose. And amidst all the ruins, critics discovered paradise. Fingers were pointed everywhere – at Michael Clarke’s captaincy, at the over-dependence of the Australian team on Clarke’s batting and fast bowling, at their batsmen’s glaringly obvious inability to play the spinning ball, at poor management of the batting order, at their miserable use of the DRS, at Cricket Australia’s handling of the press, and at the dramatic sacking of Mickey Arthur.

Michael Clarke seemed to be at the receiving end of it all. Somehow, everything seemed to trace back down the same road – the one that led to Clarke’s front door. Matthew Hayden ripped into Pup – he said that the buck needs to stop at the Australian captain, and that Clarke needs to step up and take more responsibility.

A large chunk of the Australian media called for Clarke’s head, and said that he’s too soft and gentle to be in charge. In The Australian, Alan Lee stated that Clarke needs to cultivate more ‘nastiness’, and must stop being such a ‘nice guy’.

Not a media favourite, Pup

Now, Clarke has never really been a media favourite – he’s the kind of person who is rarely in the news when the going is good, but is all over the front page when things go awry. His extreme passion for flashy cars, his one-time celebrity engagement, his tattoos, and his apparent obsession with his own image hasn’t really helped his reputation amongst the Australian public either. The situation had once gotten so out-of-hand that he was even booed by his own home crowd in Sydney in the 2010-11 Ashes.

Therefore, blaming Michael Clarke for the Ashes debacle is one of the more convenient options, and certainly one of the more popular options. He is the skipper, after all. When a team underperforms, the captain generally faces the music – it is all part of the package; it is an occupational hazard.