Michael Clarke: 13 controversies involving the Australian skipper

Michael Clarke has been Australia’s leading batsman for over a decade and a captain who guided them through tough times. While he will be remembered for his great feats on the field of play.

Michael Clarke has been Australia’s leading batsman for over a decade and a captain who guided them through tough times. While he will be remembered for his great feats on the field of play, Clarke also leaves behind a controversial legacy. Nishad Pai Vaidya picks 13 controversies involving the Australian skipper.

 

1.  Odds with the selectors

Clarke had injured himself during the first Test against India in December 2014 and spent a long time away from the game to recover. Despite a cloud over his fitness, he was named in the World Cup squad and was handed a deadline of February 21, 2015 to be fit. Clarke made it in the race against time and went on to lead Australia to victory on home soil. However, there were reports of an acrimonious build-up to it all. A report by Andrew Webster on Sydney Morning Herald claimed that he was at odds with the selectors and that the team had become more comfortable in the presence of Steven Smith as skipper. “The captain has been on a collision course for months with almost every level of the Cricket Australia hierarchy, from chief executive James Sutherland to high-performance manager Pat Howard to chairman of selectors Rod Marsh to coach Darren Lehmann. Some officials complain he’s refused to return their phone calls,” the report said.

 

2.  Leaving the New Zealand tour

Clarke had famously left the New Zealand tour of 2010 to be with his fiancée Lara Bingle, when their relationship faced tough times. A few days later, he returned to the side and bounced back by scoring a century in the first Test. Although it was purely a personal issue, it became a controversial subject with him in line to lead Australia. Fox Sports reported that the book Whitewash to Whitewash claims that Matthew Hayden had cited it as one of the reasons why Clarke should not be made captain.

 

3.  Bust-up with Katich

Following a victory in the third Test against South Africa at Sydney, Clarke was involved in a bust-up with teammate Simon Katich. It was reported that Clarke wanted to leave soon after the victory but was asked to wait for Australia’s victory song. In his book At Close of Play, former skipper Ricky Ponting wrote, “I didn’t actually witness what went on, but as I understand it he asked if we could do the anthem sooner rather than later, Mike Hussey said he’d have to wait, the point was pushed, Kato [Katich] suggested Pup [Clarke] be patient, and when Pup continued to complain Kato grabbed him and again told him to be patient. Okay, it might have been a bit spicier than that, but that was the gist of it. Michael left immediately after the confrontation, while we just shrugged our shoulders and said, ‘That’s Pup’.” A couple of years later, Katich was axed from the Australian setup when Clarke was appointed captain. Katich went on to suggest that the incident may have played a part in his predicament.

 

4.  Ponting’s comments on leadership

In his autobiography, Ponting suggested that he had doubts over his successor as Clarke wasn’t living up to the challenge as his deputy. Ponting wasn’t too pleased with Clarke’s lack of involvement in running the side and felt that he wasn’t being a part of the setup. Ponting wrote, “More than once, Tim Nielsen and I had encouraged him to take on more of a leadership role within the group, but when Pup was down on form or if he had a problem away from cricket, he’d go into his shell.” However, the former Australia captain also wrote that Clarke changed later on and also raised his game. “Perhaps I’d been wrong to be so concerned for so long,” Ponting reflected. Clarke responded by telling The Sunday Telegraph, “Everybody is entitled to their opinion, I guess. But I think the one thing, I guess, that I will say, is that if Ricky felt that that was the situation in the team, as the captain of the Australian cricket team, I would have thought that he would have approached me personally at the time.”

 

5.  Homeworkgate

This scandal was a reflection of Australia’s struggles during the tour to India in 2013. With Australia facing a 0-2 deficit going into the third of four Tests, coach Mickey Arthur and skipper Clarke stunned the world with a shocking announcement. Vice-captain Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja were axed for the third Test for not completing an exercise handed by the management. The players were expected to present their ideas on how they believe the team can move forward. The quartet failed to do so and was left out. Although Arthur copped a lot of the criticism, Clarke was also in the line of fire being the leader of the group. Months later, Arthur was sacked, but Clarke remained adamant that the decision was in the interests of Australian cricket. Meanwhile, Australia were whitewashed by India 4-0.

 

6.  Alleged rift with Shane Watson

With the homeworkgate scandal ensuring Watson’s ouster for a Test match, there were reports of a rift between him and Clarke. Coach Arthur alleged in some legal documents that the feud between Clarke and Watson was so intense that the skipper had allegedly described his deputy as a “cancer.” It was reported that the rift had grown but the rumours died down once Australia returned to winning ways.

 

7.  The Sydney Test

The 2008 Sydney Test between India and Australia was perhaps the most acrimonious affair in recent times. With the allegations of racism levelled against Harbhajan Singh, tempers only compounded with some poor on-field decisions and a few dubious acts by the Australians. Clarke was also a part of the controversy as he refused to walk after he had edged Anil Kumble to first slip off his first ball. Clarke stood his ground as the Indians continued to appeal. Ultimately, he was given out, but Clarke’s act was cited for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Later, as India battled to save the match, Clarke dived to his right to take a catch of Sourav Ganguly. The batsman waited for confirmation but Ponting told the umpires it was out. Ganguly walked back, but replays weren’t convincing that Clarke had taken it.

 

 

8.  Threatening James Anderson

As Australia closed in on victory in the first Ashes Test at Brisbane in 2013, Clarke was involved in a tiff with England bowler James Anderson. George Bailey, standing at short-leg, had a few words with Anderson. Clarke then joined in and famously told Anderson, “Get ready for a broken f****** arm.” Clarke was later fined for the incident even though there were claims that Anderson had first threatened Bailey.

 

9.  Tiff with Dale Steyn

During the Cape Town Test of 2014, Clarke exchanged heated words with Dale Steyn. Later, Clarke admitted that he crossed the line. However, Steyn was not impressed and months later, he said, “I haven’t really spoken to him [Clarke] much since then, to be honest. I don’t take many things personally, but what he did say to me I did take personally.” However, Steyn later said that it had become a mountain out of a mole hill.

 

10.  Controversial declaration in Grade cricket

Ahead of the first Test against India in 2014, Clarke was racing to get fit. He turned up for his club Wests in Sydney’s Grade Cricket. As the game is spread over two weekends and Clarke still facing more recovery time, Wests declared their first innings with only 17 runs on the board.  Parramatta then batted as Wests faced the prospect of their second innings the following weekend, which would allow Clarke to turn up, the Daily Telegraph reported. This was orchestrated by the club so that Clarke could get time to bat and prove his fitness. Cricket New South Wales started an investigation and said in a statement, “The most important thing is the integrity of the competition. We need to make sure we find out what happened, and make sure this doesn’t happen again.” The Wests captain was criticised for putting the individual before the game.

 

11.  Refusing to stand at short-leg

Hayden claimed that Clarke once refused to stand at forward short-leg and threatened to hand back his Baggy Green. This revelation came after Clarke announced his retirement from the sport. Speaking to Triple M Brisbane, Hayden said, “I’ll never forget the day that Justin Langer couldn’t go bat-pad because he had head injuries. We needed someone and usually it goes to the youngest in the side. He [Clarke] said, “If I have to wear that, I will hand my Baggy Green back. The thing is it’s an indictment on Michael. But it’s in context of this conversation to say that he knew that he didn’t want to do that, he was skilful in other places. But in hindsight we should have said mate that’s exactly what will happen, we will have your Baggy Green back and that’s the way it will roll. But he learnt from that, he became a much better person and a much better player through those lessons.”

 

12.  Alleged rift in the team during Ashes 2015

As Australia slumped to an embarrassing Ashes defeat in England, there were reports of a rift in the side. A report in The Courier Mail claimed that Clarke was isolated and did not spend enough time with his teammates. It was also reported that Clarke wasn’t actually travelling in the team bus and some other issues had also plagued the campaign. However, Fox Sports reported that Clarke denied it on a radio show Triple M by saying, “The players are as tight as any team I’ve been a part of. Travelling in different cars — what a load of s**t. Wives and girlfriends being on tour is a distraction for us — what a load of s**t. That’s absolute garbage.”

 

13.  Told Aleem Dar not to touch him

As the fifth Test between England and Australia at The Oval in 2013 drew to a dramatic close, light played its part and intervened. Clarke was involved in an argument with the umpires over the light, when Aleem Dar seemed to touch him. As that happened, Clarke was seen telling Dar not to do so. Clarke later told the media, “I can’t remember what I said. I remember Aleem touching me and I asked him politely to not touch me because if I touched him, I’d be suspended for three matches.”

 

 

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Mumbai-based cricket journalist and one of the youngest to cover the three major cricketing events — ICC World Cup, World T20 and under-19 World Cup. He tweets as @nishad_45)

 

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