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Clarke faces tough call over ODI future

Michael Clarke. Australian cricket's Mr Glass may have played his last game of cricket.
Roar Guru
16th September, 2014
20

Australia has announced the Michael Clarke will be unavailable for at least the limited overs leg of the upcoming tour of Pakistan.

The news is not surprising, after Clarke left the Zimbabwean Tri-Series tournament early due to an injured hamstring.

While it appears Clarke still has many years left in him as an international player, the incumbent Australian captain and invaluable ODI batsman still has to ask himself a tough question – should I quit the one-day format?

Clarke’s run with injury is well known, and well documented. He has had ongoing back troubles since he was 17, and despite this has grown into one of the finest players Australia has ever had the fortune to call their own.

His averages, both Test and ODI, speak for themselves. While his strike rate is a little low for limited overs cricket, any side in the world would take his 45 runs per innings, as well as his fine fielding. Yet it seems that with his increasing injury setbacks, it may be time to focus on one format. That has to be the ultimate format – Test cricket.

The idea wouldn’t be that new to Clarke. He retired from T20 internationals in 2010 and handed over the reins to George Bailey. He knew back then that playing and captaining in the three formats would put a huge toll on his body, and indeed his sanity.

He would be feeling similar pressure again, as the weight of a packed Test schedule and plenty of ODIs have filled up his calendar to the point where he’d struggle for time to catch up with Shane Warne for a beer. If Clarke is looking for a precedent, he needs to look no further than the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

While Chanders’ ODI career wrapped up due to being dropped, not retirement, his Test career flourished in its wake. He’s since crossed the 10,000-run barrier, and is playing on despite being the ripe of age of 40. They are two targets Pup would undoubtedly like to achieve.

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I’d expect that some would be concerned about Clarke packing it in before the World Cup here in Australia next year. One thing sides look for in the 12 months leading up to a World Cup is continuity, and losing your captain hardly helps. Clarke also deserves nothing less than another shot at the silverware.

That being said, Australia have spent the last few months blooding new ODI batsmen. With Shane Watson and David Warner missing from tours as well, the Australian selectors have been able to trial new combinations, and players like Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and Phil Hughes have been given a chance to step up. When it comes to a replacement skipper, there’s no doubt Bailey has been a great fill-in of late.

At the end of the day, if the injuries and interruptions continue, Clarke will have less and less of a say in the decision. Since January 2013, he’s played a mere 16 ODIs. Meanwhile, his deputy, George Bailey, has notched up 31 appearances. It has been increasingly stop start in his limited overs career, and as such he’s missed the Champions Trophy in England, the recent Tri-Series in Zimbabwe (bar one match) and now the Pakistan series.

Clarke has only missed one Test due to injury over his career, and the last thing he, selectors and the Aussie fans would want is for his injuries to start hampering his form in the five-day format.

I really toyed with the idea of titling this article ‘Michael Clarke should retire from ODIs’, but I find it hard to provide such stern advice for elite athletes. Michael Clarke has forgotten more about cricket and fitness than I will ever learn. It’s his decision when to retired, and rightfully so.

However, he himself has stated that his Test career is more important than anything, so perhaps creating a vacancy in the ODI squad is the right thing for him. Regardless of his decision, Clarke will have the support of Aussie fans, and hopefully, the selectors.

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