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After the 2012 Michael Clarke has had so far, he is well on his way to being Australia’s greatest batsman since Sir Donald Bradman.
This may seem somewhat controversial as there have been some great batsmen since ‘the Don’ through like Neil Harvey, Greg Chappell, Allan Border and Steve Waugh.
It may seem even more out of line, given Chappell sits second in Australian averages with 53.86, just ahead of Clarke’s current 52.64. Although, we all know batting isn’t just about averages.
Clarke came in yesterday with Australia reeling at 3/55 and with Australia needing something special from their captain. He duly delivered.
He never looked like being dismissed during his first day knock of 224 not out. This was an innings where he became the first man to score four Test match double centuries in the one calendar year.
When you look at his wagon wheel from the first day, you can see Clarke can score heavily in any part of the ground. He has all the strokes.
From the moment he stepped onto Bangalore for his first Test, he struck that brilliant 151, Pup has looked every inch the Test player.
Sure, there have been times when he goes through droughts, but what batsman hasn’t? He could also have been accused of throwing his wicket away too easily early in his career.
However, the way he has responded to the captaincy is phenomenal. In the 12 months before taking over from Ponting, Clarke had averaged just 21.5.
Since taking control during the 2011 Sri Lankan series and not including this South African series where he has not been dismissed, Clarke has scored 1,355 runs at 58.88. This is the mark of a great batsman and a great leader.
While no one will ever challenge the Don as the greatest Australian batsman of all time, Clarke certainly deserves to be mentioned in the highest echelon.
In fact, this cricket fan truly believes Clarke deserves his place in second. The best part is though, his career isn’t close to being over.
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