It seems incredulous to think that just two years ago Michael Clarke was booed as he stepped onto the SCG turf in the last Ashes Test of that series.
As a captain he has managed to turn the swag of negative opinion against him into a scene of goodwill and admiration.
When Clarke was awarded the captaincy after the last Ashes series, there was an audible groan that could be heard from Perth to Sydney.
In a country where the Australian cricket captaincy is the ultimate symbol of manliness, it seemed hearsay that it would be given to a pretty boy who had yet to prove himself worthy. The modeling, the Lara Bingle circus and his form seemed to taint his reputation as a cricketer.
Within days of his succession, the persona of Clarke changed in the eyes of the public. It started with his retirement from Twenty20 cricket to focus on his Test and ODI responsibilities followed by an ODI series victory over England where his captaincy was in stark contrast to that of his predecessor.
Then came a 4-0 whitewash of India where his attacking, intuitive captaincy saw the Aussies reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy in an upset.
He topped this personally with a batting performance that saw him join Don Bradman and Wally Hammond in scoring a double and triple century in the same series.
Clarke’s final redeeming act was a match saving 259 against South Africa where he batted exceptionally at a time when the Aussies needed a captain’s knock.
Clarke has finally been accepted. Subtly but surely, he has distanced himself from his predecessors dour conservatism and channelled former captains Border, Taylor and Waugh. If these three had a love child, it would have been Clarke.
The man from Liverpool combines the stoic nature of Border with the chirpy excitable character of Taylor and has added dash of the Zen-like batting Steve Waugh was so famous for.
His batting since becoming captain has also improved dramatically.
Much like Waugh, Clarke’s irritableness has been replaced by a sound technique and a concentration span that was missing at times.
Since becoming captain, his average has is around 56 with the bat compared to his all time average of around 47.
His captaincy is all about one thing; getting the win.
Where Ricky Pointing would play for a draw, Michael Clarke will look for the opportunity to push for a victory.
While I believe he declared a little too late on Day 5, the fact he went for the win is a positive sign.
But the biggest area he has improved in is his personality and public image.
Prior to ascending to captaincy, it seemed Clarke treated cricket as a stairway to fame not as a passion that needed to be nurtured.
Cricket seemed a furphy in his hectic life, with his focus more on the modelling and the high life combined with a stand offish persona.
How this has changed in 18 months. Clarke is now approachable, intelligent and passionate about his role.
He spends hours with young kids and old diehards at family days and never complains about the workload.
Like Mark Taylor, he portrays a boyish excitement about playing cricket for his country that was sorely missing from his earlier days.
There is a time limit on this goodwill as only an Ashes victory in England will be satisfactory for Australia.
However, the most misunderstood cricket since Shane Warne has revived his reputation and his legacy in a nation where cricketers must fit a mould.
Will
Guest
He averages over 50, enough said...and he is an attacking Captain who isn't afraid to try stuff.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
Pitch was flat. 1181 runs were scored and 19 wickets fell. That is an average of 62.16 runs per wicket. Overall, the runs flowed at 3.29 to the over. Only once was a team dismissed, and that took 151.4 overs. SA kept the Australians in the field for that long, which adds up to more than 10 hours, in their first innings of 450. In six of the 11 sessions of play, no wickets or just one wicket fell between intervals.
jameswm
Guest
Clarke should bat at 4. He doesn't have to go any higher. We need Watson and a youngster at 5/6 and I don't think there's much difference between 4 and 5.
MrKistic
Guest
Like Allan Border. He was rubbish.
Will
Guest
Waugh batted at 5 and 6 for a long part of his career. While he bats at 5, he can never really be classed as a 'great' batsmen. Sorry, that is just the way it is in Australia.
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
"Without his hundred his average would only be 28". That's true. But it doesn't prove anything... You're basically saying that if he didn't score so many runs, he wouldn't have such a high average. I mean, yeh obviously. That's the whole point. He scored the runs, therefore his average is higher. It aint rocket surgery
dasilva
Roar Guru
First I'll just correct my msitake, clarke averga 40 away from home not 42 (the 42 was his away average when he wasn't captain as quoted by Vas) come on you can't just ignore stats in India. India were the only team that was competitive against Australia during that dominant era and his performance there in India counts. Guys like Hayden Waugh and even Clarke himself has a better record in India so it's like it was impossible to score runs there In any case even if clarke hasn't shown to be as good as the likes of ponting, waugh etc. I don't think anyone has claim that yet. he's one rung below that group but still a very impressive player It's like saying I'm not impressed with Clarke yet because he hasn't proven himself to be in the same class as all time great of the game. If you're not impressed with Clarke right now than basically 95% of test cricketers aren't impressive
Dingo
Guest
He could save on old lady from a burning building and there would be people still finding things to dislike about him. It's them, not him in my opinion.
Dingo
Guest
Spot on. The SCG crowd booing him said more about their pack mentality and a perception of what they think the bloke is like based on New Idea, A.C.A and T.T tabloid articles, rather than having any idea whatsoever about what he is really like.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
Steve Waugh batted four when he was captain, as did Don Bradman. Just because you're the best batsman in the side, or captain, doesn't mean you HAVE to bat at three. Five suits him very well, he has the grit to dig us out of a hole when the top order doesn't fire and he can also attack to make the most of good starts at the top and drill home the advantage.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
Clarke may have scored all the hundreds you mentioned but there things that have to be taken into consideration: He averages below 40 in India, South Africa and West Indies. Of the 300 odd runs he has scored in South Africa, almost half came in his 151, so host innings aside he averages around 20 in SA. It's all good and well saying he scored a hundred in SL, but it was a fairly ordinary attack. No Muralidaran or Vaas. And again without his hundred his average would only be 28. Same for his record in NZ, his one big hundred (168) if offset by a few low scores. Clarke is one off innings kind of guy away from home. The stats expose he flaws.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
Ricky's away average is effected by a terrible record in India. Otherwise it would be above 50.
Will
Guest
My main issue with Clarke is that his never been able to bat higher then 5 with any success. At his age, he is at his peak as a batsmen. I think he should elevate himself to 3 - clearly, his our best batsmen - yet in my view, he is 'hiding' at 5. That is my main issue with him - he is the captain and if he wanted to bat there he could. A part of me is still suspicious of Clarke - he entire career he has always been very concerned about his public image. Other players, like Ricky Ponting, cared very little. Still, Clarke is a novice in the job, as another poster alluded to, the real test is when things don't go his way, and the public inevitably turns on him.
dasilva
Roar Guru
He's not dominant but he's still pretty reliable away from home Clarke average 42 away from home Compare this to Ricky ponting who average 45.81 There' isn't a huge difference and Ponting is considered an all time great
Frankie Hughes
Guest
As I said anyone can bully opposition in their own backyard. Yes Clarke scored a brilliant 151 in Bangalore and In SA. But away from home he's not dominant. It's a fact. Home average of 62.
Vas Venkatramani
Roar Guru
Full breakdown of matches played by Michael Clarke in each country: Australia (42 Tests, 3523 runs at 62.91, 12 hundreds, 10 fifties, HS 329*) Bangladesh (2 Tests, 51 runs at 25.5, HS 23*) England (12 Tests, 922 runs at 46.1, 2 hundreds, 5 fifties, HS 136) India (10 Tests, 686 runs at 38.11, 2 hundreds, 3 fifties, HS 151) New Zealand (5 Tests, 297 runs at 49.5, 1 hundred, 1 fifty, HS 168) South Africa (5 Tests, 307 runs at 34.11, 1 hundred, 1 fifty, HS 151) Sri Lanka (3 Tests, 214 runs at 42.8, 1 hundred, 1 fifty, HS 112) West Indies (5 Tests, 356 runs at 39.55, 1 hundred, 1 fifty, HS 110) It's fair to say that will be the true mark of greatness of Michael Clarke - whether he can lift his away average above 50. But seeing that he has scored hundreds in every country except Bangladesh, he certainly has the technique to score runs in any conditions. For an even further breakdown, lets look at Clarke before becoming captain both home and away: Home: 34 Tests, 2432 runs at 52.86, 8 hundreds, 10 fifties, HS 166) Away: 34 Tests, 2265 runs at 41.94, 6 hundreds, 10 fifties, HS 168) Since becoming captain: Home: 8 Tests, 1091 runs at 109.1, 4 hundreds, HS 329*) Away: 8 Tests, 568 runs at 37.86, 2 hundreds, 2 fifties, HS 151) So clearly he is superior playing at home than away (like most). But based on this, he has a big 12 months ahead, with 4 Tests in India and 5 Tests in England coming up. That will really define him as a batsman, but more as a captain.
Arthur Fonzarelli
Guest
Clarke is the guy at school who was good looking and got all the girls, was the teachers pet and elected school captain, won all the races at the swimming and athletics carnivals, got staright A's on the report card, and helped little old ladies across the street. You know he's good but somehow you cant warm to him.
Johnno
Guest
Coz it's fun Brett, and I thick well i do i like to compare players form different eras. And some of these players , are recent retirements or fairly recently and have played with Clarke,. And Clarke played in the golden generation era so has exposure with some of this group.
pope paul v11
Guest
I liked him better before he was captain and selector. Can bat though.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
The lifestyle stuff around Clarke never really bothered me. I don't see how him having tattoos, silly haircuts and a Ferrari really impacts on my lifestyle, so why hate him for it? What bothered me was that ever since he scored that debut ton in India he has been ordained captain in waiting. My resentment grew over time because he batted down the order and never really dug in and made runs in a tight situation when the team needed it. All his big innings seemed to come when Australia was cruising, not when we were 4 down for a hundred and something. I thought he was mentally weak and not right to captain Australia. I am happy to have changed my opinion of him and eating a large serve of nice humble pie. Ever since he has taken over as captain he has played many very tricky innings to keep Australia in the game when all around him fell apart. He played very important Captain's kocks in Sri Lanka and South Africa, along with great knocks against NZ, India and the Saffas again. Not only that I think his tactics are much better than anything under Punter. For me he is the best Batsman in the world right now, not number 4 as the official rankings say.