Our next Test captain is not in the current team
Roar Pro
By Junior, 6 Feb 2009 Junior is a Roar Pro
Ricky Ponting is 34 years old. He probably has no more than five years left at the top level. The captaincy seems to be his as long as he wants it. But then what?
Michael “Pup” Clarke, I hear you say.
Let’s assess his pros and cons:
Pros
* from NSW
* a competent, though flashy batsman
* the current vice captain
* about the right age
Cons
* one of his cricket (and life) mentors is Shane Warne
* immature and unlikely to change
* one of his cricket (and life) mentors is Shane Warne
* prone to powder at crucial moments
* one of his cricket (and life) mentors is Shane Warne
* off field profile is too similar to Lleyton Hewitt
* one of his cricket (and life) mentors is Shane Warne
* he believes and behaves like he is destined to be captain
* one of his cricket (and life) mentors is Shane Warne
* talks about himself in the third person
Unfortunately, this is not the pedigree of a successful Test captain.
Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh were all statesmen of the game who commanded respect through their behaviour both on and off the field. While Ricky Ponting can sometimes divide opinion, given more time, he too may assume cricket royalty status.
Michael Clarke doesn’t have the same appeal.
At the presentation of the Allan Border Medal earlier this week, only one of the four people on the stage appeared to be out of his depth and only too pleased to be there. And it wasn’t that talentless uber smooth jibberer from Channel Nine.
So who do we turn to?
Bowlers and keepers have enough on their plate so we can rule them out. Of the current set up, the two obvious candidates are Michael Hussey and Simon Katich. With both of them less than a year younger than the incumbent, they are probably not realistic long-term options.
That leaves us with the likely prospect that the next Test captain is currently an outstanding Shield batsman who is no older than about 28 now. If he has experience captaining his State by the time Ponting retires, then his stocks will rise further.
Some players that may fit that profile include Cameron White, Shaun Marsh, Michael Klinger, Callum Ferguson and Phillip Hughes. Even Shane Watson could be considered, as long as he doesn’t dislocate a shoulder pushing aside the shower curtain or bump his head on the wind chimes.
No doubt some of these names will cause a furrowed brow or two.
After all, they only have twelve Test caps between them and who knows how many more they will have won by the time the next skipper is required.
While it is not obvious now, in all likelihood somebody will emerge from the pack and move seamlessly into the role. What is more obvious, however, is that Michael “Pup” Clarke should stay firmly in the pack.
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Severian said | February 6th 2009 @ 5:17am | Report comment
Having Shane Warne as a cricketing mentor is a positive, not a negative. Being friends with someone is not the same as having them as a life mentor, and the fact that Clarke has largely avoided off field drama shows that judging him as being guilty by association is poor form indeed.
Where is the evidence that Clarke is immature? He was the guy who tried to help Symonds after the drunken Bangladesh incident in 05, and he was also a driving force behind having Symonds sent home after the “Gone Fishing” incident in Darwin last year. He’s opted not to play IPL 2 years in a row to dedicate himself to the Aussie team, and his family.
Prone to powder at crucial moments? He’s been one of the few guys scoring runs in the last 12 months while the team falls apart around him. Sure, he’s gotten himself out at ugly times on occasion recently, but has it happened so often that it represents a pattern, or invalidates the tough runs he’s been scoring against top attacks throughout the same period?
There are things I don’t like about the man either, but those, like this article, are all about personality, and nothing to do with performance or character.
sheek said | February 6th 2009 @ 7:13am | Report comment
Junior,
I’m with Severian. Shane Warne would be, along with Keith Miller, the two smartest cricket brains never to captain Australia. And to suggest that Clarke is firstly immature, & never likely to change!!! What are you, a clairvoyant???
If you were the prosecution in whether Clarke should be the next Australian captain, your arguments would be thrown as being flimsy, flawed & deeply prejudicial. Clarke would get the gig!
I also have my reservations about Clarke being the next test captain, but I would want to come with far more substantial arguments than the ones you’ve raised.
Justin said | February 6th 2009 @ 7:26am | Report comment
Anyone who mentions Cam White as a potential captain of Australia need their head read!
sledgeross said | February 6th 2009 @ 8:26am | Report comment
One need only read the Sydney papers to know that Pup isnt as popular amongst his teammates as his minders would have you think. Yes, as you two have pointed out, there is nothing tangible, but where theres smoke, theres fir!
no clarke, but leave shane alone said | February 6th 2009 @ 8:55am | Report comment
Aside from you bagging one of Australia’s greatest ever players, I agree with the sentiment of the rest of your article.
Uncaptainly traits Clarke displays-
He’s more image than substance in action and speech. A poser. A bit of a tosser to be honest.
He would put the missus ahead of the team after a win (‘quick, let’s sing the team song, the missus is waiting’ incident).
Regardless of what may be commonly beleived, I’m not convinced that he is cool under pressure.
I’m not convinced.
He’s childish. This would be OK if he’d just got in the team. He’s had plenty long enough but still acts like the new kid on the block.
The captian needs to be rock solid, cool calm and collected in all situations, display great sportsmanship in victory and more importantly in defeat, and command the respect of his team mates.
I’m not feeling it with Clarke, (or anyone else in the current line up) and therefore agree with the sentiment of the article.
If we had to get someone tomorrow, yeah, he’s vice-captain and would naturally step up.
Thank ye gods we’ve got some still to find the right man for the job.
Mattay said | February 6th 2009 @ 9:07am | Report comment
Never been a fan of Michael Clarke. He’s a serviceable batsman who looks good amongst the strugglers he’s playing with now, but would not have got a look in during the golden period ahead of Martyn or Lehmann.
He does seem to think the captainship is his for the taking, and he has a smugness about him because of it.
I’m not a fan of his Beckham-esque aspirations either. I once heard him & his gf called a poor mans Posh & Becks. I like your “Poor mans Bec & Lleyton” analogy either.
Stories like the one breaking today about him and Katich should cast further doubts as to whether Clarke is the man to lead this team post-Ponting. Can you imagine Steve Waugh asking for team celebrations to be wrapped up early so he could spend time with his wife?
Had a laugh watching Sports Tonight and Clarke commented that he “can’t help it if people are interested in his personal life and it’s one of the things you need to deal with for being famount” (or words to that effect). Get your hand off it, Mike. He courts publicity worse than any Australian sportsperson going today. He only seems be interested in letting the public know how much money he makes (look at my car), how good looking his girlfriend (pity Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Bracken’s missus are much more attractive and they don’t feel the need to tell us all about it) or how cool his tattoos are (they’re not).
Terry Kidd said | February 6th 2009 @ 9:33am | Report comment
I also have reservations about M Clarke as captain …. my choice right now would be to remove Ponting and install Katich …. Katich is a cricket statesman, his team mates respect him enormously and I think he is fitter and has longer in the game at top level remaining than does Ponting.
Katich is smart. He will want his bowlers to bowl to a plan and will set fields to support them and the plan. At the moment, if there is a bonding elemnt and a smart tactical brain in the touring party then Katich is it and Ponting would be an idiot if he does not make full use of him.
Michael C said | February 6th 2009 @ 9:50am | Report comment
S.K.Warne is a fine cricketing mentor. And captained quite well in place of S.R.Waugh a few years back for almost a dozen ODI wins from the same number of games………..S.R.Waugh wasted no time in getting back.
btw – - why is being from NSW listed as a ‘PRO’??? Surely state of origin is not at all relevant,……
……or, along with you repeated denigration of Warne, indicates that this is an article in total jest????
btw – M.Clarke started winning me over this summer. Not for his batting at it’s best (like M.Waugh, he can look pretty and classy) – - but, rather for the couple of scratchy innings where he actually dug in, ground it out and showed a bit of test cricket application and grit. Previously, I felt that he was prone to playing a bit loose, and getting too many County 40s!! He still has to learn to build a BIG innings. Something that still positions him too close to M.Waugh. However, his average has him ahead.
As captain – - well, let’s see how he goes. The next 2 games will be a valuable experience. If Punter can stick around for another 2-3 years, then, Clarke has a bit of time on his side still. Give him a chance to mature, and don’t – in 3 years time – hold against him too much of what he did through age 21-24.
Rickety Knees said | February 6th 2009 @ 10:08am | Report comment
I agree with Sheek. Clark is a show pony and more interested in the shit and glitter of life. I might not think highly of Warne as a bloke but nobody has a better cricket brain or played the game harder than he did. The Australian Captain has to be made of stronger stuff than what Clark is made of. In a lot of ways Clark reminds me of Kim Hughes …..
sledgeross said | February 6th 2009 @ 10:59am | Report comment
As a smoky. Steve Smith ticks a few boxes going forward.
handy batsman and leggie bowler, he captains his grade team Sutherland, and quite well by all accounts despite being in his early 20′s and HE”S FROM NSW