No regrets on 'homework-gate', it was the best decision for Australian cricket - Michael Clarke
Almost a year ago, Michael Clarke, the Australian captain saw his team go down by 2-0 at Lords against England, when they lost by 347 runs in the Ashes series. With a horrendous tour of India before that, Clarke’s Australia were going through a rough period.
Clarke had hit his lowest points as skipper and the one year of captaincy was turning into a nightmare for him.
Worst period as captain
A few months before, on the tour of India, Australia was spun out by the hosts and Australia suffered the worst of defeats ever in subcontinent going down by 4-0, which saw them being labelled as the worst Australian side to have toured India, something which Clarke concedes, has disappointed him the most.
"I was more disappointed and upset at the fact a team I was captaining was labelled the worst Australian team to tour India; I blame me”, Clarke told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Moreover, homework-gate incident made matter worse, as Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja were dropped after having failed to follow the team orders and do presentations as homework. Coach Mickey Arthur then wasn’t too pleased with the senior players in the squad, and decided to make the controversial decision.
No regrets on homework-gate
Clarke believes that it was the toughest period of his captaincy but he does not regret his decision to support his coach.
"In the build up to that event, there were a number of things that occurred over a long period of time; it wasn't just that event," he said. "Mickey drew a line in the sand and yes, I was a part of it, I stand by that, but I don't regret it one bit. I backed my coach, I supported him and I believe the decision, especially now that I look back, was the best decision for Australian cricket."
Clarke had backed his coach and supported the disciplinary measures taken by Mickey Arthur, who later went on to be sacked just days prior to the Ashes tour in England, and replaced by Darren Lehmann.
After being suspended by the Mohali Test, save for Khwaja, all the players sacked in the incident have come back strongly.
The resurgence
Despite a frustrating 2013, Clarke led the side to an emphatic series win in home Ashes, destroying England 5-0 Down Under. After that win, Australia turned into a completely different team that had tremendous self-belief and they went on to push aside South Africa and take the No 1. Position in Tests.
But Clarke feels that the best of the team is yet to come and he was looking forward for the daunting challenges ahead of him.
Australia will play a Test series against Pakistan in UAE and host India before the 2015 World Cup, followed by an Ashes rematch later in 2015.
“There's a hell of a lot still to achieve, I think our team's still growing," Clarke said. "I still don't think we're at our best as a group, but we're extremely proud of what we have achieved. We've got India, a tough test team coming to Australia this summer, and then we go back to England next summer for the Ashes, so there's still a lot of tough cricket in front of us, but we're excited by that."