Clarke finally earns the respect he yearns for

I agree with Jameswm - was surprised (or maybe wasn't) to see the first quote in the paper after he notched the double century was that his knock was about gaining respect. His job is to score runs and win matches, he's obviously still worried about what we think of him. Maybe less cliche's, less stupid interview, less magazine spreads and more innings like that and it's problem solved.

I thought the declaration was understandable, but I bet the ACB and Cricket NSW would be wishing he had held on for another days revenues...

would have much preferred Clarke got to 381 to knock off Hayden's ridiculous 380 (against Zimbabwe)...

I've never said Clarke shouldn't be in the team, but I've been critical of him at times for certain things. But it does disturb me that he says he is looking for the public's respect. His job is to win games and if he wants anyone's respect, it's his teammates he should be worried about. Say you are looking for the public's respect - publicly - and you might not get it. He's certainly done enough now to win over even the most cynical, so I don't know that he needs to say that. Maybe's he's just being honest - I'm sure winning the public's respect has been on his mind. He's human after all. More bloody-mindedness and tough batting and captaincy - and you'll move into greatness.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/injured-pattinson-ruled-out-of-third-test-20120106-1poj9.html Bugger, Pattinson out for series.

You have to remember that as spectators watching T.V or listening to the radio we are bombarded with stats and records. If you are the Captain of Australia, I imagine your thoughts are on two things 1) scoring runs and 2) reflecting on how many runs ahead you need to be before declaring. I would be very surprised if Clarke was thinking about the fact that Taylor and Bradman both made big scores and his score could be bigger or that Reg Foster one hundred years ago made allot of runs

If Clarke had swung freely I believe 500 could have been reached with 20 mins of play left in the day. Had he batted for an extra day we could have been looking at Clarke scoring 1000 runs which would take some beating.

THIS! its just typical of the way that Clarke polarises Australians that even now the bums still find a way to be critical.

lol

I too have been crictical of Clarke and his perceived metro ways. He has proven to be an astute captain with an excellent understanding of the poignant moments of Test Match cricket. In this match he (with the help of the recently maligned Ponting and Hussey) has taken Australia from a very precarious 3 for not much to an impregnable position and has given his bowlers every opportunity to win the game. My hat off to Clarke - he is the man! Well done Ponting and Hussey!

'The Aussies will win this series 4-0.' lol, is your real name McGrath VC? ;-)

At the end of a great day yesterday i was disappointed that he didn't give himself a shot at the record. The crowd was absolutely behind him in every way.and it would have been great fun for me and everyone at the ground, but I think he showed that he genuinely has the mind of a captain, with tactics, state of his foes and the management of his bowlers always at the front of his mind. i thought when he declared 3 wickets by the end of the day would have been perfect and absolutely assured a series victory and they should have had them. Sehwag's wicket alone vindicated the decision and virtually assured a series victory.

I can't pretend to know what was going through his mind but it doesn't seem impossible that he saw it as an opportunity to display his selflessness to everybody. I can't necessarily blame him for that by the way, such has been the ludicrous level of criticism heaped upon his head for the temerity of having a few tattoos and a boffable girlfriend! But for me, breaking records is part of the fun of cricket and I think the fans would have enjoyed watching him try. I know I would. As for the Indians, I doubt they'll see out the 4th day. They are absolutely shot. The Aussies will win this series 4-0.

A fair point, and I reckon you'll get your chance to show you "appreciation" of the Bondi team with $BW at Easts in 2013.

No, it was the SCG. And it wasn't the Barmy Army - it was Australian supporters.

A champion knock from a previously much maligned player I thought he could have declared a bit earlier, particularly with the weather turning. Was he waiting for Husseys 150 or did this just coincide with tea? When he got his 300 then continued on I assumed he was going for the record What to say about the Indian bowling attack - very little imagination and clearly poor execution. 1 wicket for 622 runs is absolutely woeful under any circumstances and cannot be explained solely by the strength of the Clarke/Ponting/Hussey batting performance or the pitch. Not to detract from Clarkes innings but it should at least be noted that the Indians waved the white flag on day 2.

I get the impression than if the whole team needed kidney transplants after eating a particularly spicy vindaloo on the next tour of India and Clarke offered up his own organs in carefully segmented parts to save their lives, some people would still label it as 'typical selfish gen Y behaviour, spreading his body parts around like that, clearly just doing it to gain attention'.

Still a bit uncomfortable with Clarke but good on him. Loving the ABC commentary, especially Kerry O'Keeffe's continued corruption of Harsha Bogle.

That last bit might be because only latte-sipping Bondi boys like the Roosters. The rest of us like real teams!

It was the Gabba where Clarke got booed.