Michael Clarke is a splendid cricket captain, who, despite a poor win-loss record, has demonstrated a keen ability to make good decisions in the heat of a Test match battle.
But the man with Australia’s second most important job (or is it first?) made a bit of a blunder at the start of this Test match when he sent Alastair Cook’s men to the crease.
Sure, it was overcast and sure, in the last two Ashes Test matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the team batting first has capitulated spectacularly, but M. Clarke’s choice to bowl was simply the wrong decision.
The drop in wicket at the ‘G is flat, slow, and not conducive to spin, and while the first session of play, or at least half of it, would have been nice for the Australian quicks to practice their art, it was, is, and will always be a bat first wicket.
It appears that Clarke was seduced by moisture, which was lingering in the sky, in the humidity of the morning of 26 December, and in the pitch. But come lunch time, that wonderful Australian sun was beaming down on her minions with the glory that is usually reserved for royalty, and batting should have been good fun.
Alas, it wasn’t, and Mitchell Johnson with his horrifying moustache and his band of merry men knocked England over for a paltry 255. But this was not the result of great bowling conditions; it was because of good bowling.
When Australia were dismissed for 204 in their first dig, it was again because of good bowling, and some pretty mediocre batting.
Naturally some Roarers will suggest that if we knocked England over for less than 300 on the first day that it was the right call to bowl, and others will say that if Australia with the Test, which they have a wonderful chance of doing, then it doesn’t matter, but I opine that it does.
It matters for two reasons. The first of these is that there is a whole country desperate for a 5-0 drubbing over this English outfit and desperate for Australia to keep their collective foot on the throat of each English cricket, and it matters because each Test match is as important as its predecessor and its successor. Test cricket is the pinnacle of the world’s greatest sport, and winning the toss is a luxury not to be squandered.
Michael Clarke is an Australian hero, and rightly so, but his decision to bowl on Boxing Day 2013 will, in this Roarer’s opinion, go down as a mistake. It appears his side will get him off the hook, but lets hope he doesn’t make this mistake again.
Bobby
Guest
The main ingredient in the English humble pie is sour grapes!
Mark
Guest
Hope some of you like the taste of humble pie
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
I think it also has a bit to do with the volume of AFL played on the grounds. The SCG and Gabba only have one home team each so theoretically only get used once every two weeks per season. On the other hand the MCG gets used that many times every weekend (at least) so the cricket pitch in the center would be damaged beyond belief, quickly turning into a complete bog if any rain showed up during a couple of matches. It is annoying I know because it robs the ground of a lot of character but I guess the MCG Trust (or whoever runs it) would say the commercial realities make a drop in pitch the only viable option.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
Because Queensland isn't a AFL state and Queensland Cricket rightfully told the AFL were it's place is up here, a minor inconvenience tolerated as long as the cash keeps coming.
JGK
Roar Guru
And now his bowlers have at least a 6 day break until they need to bowl again.
Tony Loedi
Roar Guru
Read the above comments Wannabe - We need to prove to ourselves that we can chase down totals
Sideline Comm.
Guest
It does seem like it was a mistake, but surely you can all see the rational behind the choice. Not to mention the well known history of the ground in first innings, the pitch has got better through the test, and was perhaps best for batting yesterday or today. To chose to bowl first on a pitch that is known to get better through the days is not a ridiculous choice.
Ophuph Hucksake
Guest
There actually wasn't much moisture at all during the first morning. While it was overcast overhead, this was middle level cloud, and undercutting this layer was a dry northerly surface wind. The relative humidity at 11am on Boxing Day was only 30% at Melbourne Airport. Maybe Clarke's NSW origins led to him making a bad call - I suspect people on the eastern sea board only ever see cloud when conditions are humid.
fadida
Guest
+1
Go the Wannabe's
Guest
Whether Oz win or not, it was a bad decision...in a word, a clanger. Ask yourself this, what would England have done if they won the toss? Send in Oz in? I don't think so. England had lost 3 tosses in a row, Oz had batted first and set 500+ to win 3 times in a row....for the first time in history. You can safely bet England would not have sent Oz in. Clarke should have kept the psychological foot on the throat and batted first. When you're onto a good thing, stick to it!
fadida
Guest
+2 the series is over so it's time to answer a few questions, particularly from a batting POV
JGK
Roar Guru
Surely this article is a day too early. We'll know today if it was a bad decision. The pitch may well be easiest to bat on today. My opinion, for what it's worth, if you win the toss and bowl and you roll the opposition for 430 over two innings (and if not for dropped catches could have been sub 400) then it's hard to criticise the decision.
Andrew
Guest
It was the wrong decision for a few reasons. England made batting look easy day 1 with most batsmen getting starts. If it wasn't for our bowlers, they might have made us pay and got 400+. The other thing is that day 1, our bowlers looked very gingerly. Watson got a groin strain and Harris had ankle soreness. Maybe and extra day off from bowling could have made it easier on our bowlers. However, it is funny to note that had Coulter-Nile held his catch of Pietersen, we would have had a first innings lead of about 10 and would only need about 160. 130 now after Warner and Rogers start.
Troy
Guest
Probably Clarke's most baffling decision since he declared on the first day in India.
Chui
Guest
I wonder if part of the reasoning was he saw the moisture and the overhead conditions and thought Anderson could run riot here if we bat first.
Tony Loedi
Roar Guru
Drop in pitches should be banned, How come the Gabba can get away with not using drop in pitches? AFL is played at the Gabba also
Tony Loedi
Roar Guru
Just because Clarke is a great captain doesn't mean he won't make mistakes. I agree with Tom in normal circumstances this wasn't a great decision, but being up 3-0 I'm happy he chose to bowl first because we need to get better at chasing down totals
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
With all due respect Tom, I'd back Michael Clarke's judgement over yours. His cricketing credentials are there for all to see, what are your credentials (no offence intended). He is on the spot, knows his team and the opposition and has seen the conditions up close and first hand.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
The MCG and the AFL have a lot to answer for too, they've wrecked one of the most iconic cricketing grounds in the world.
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
It probably wasn't the best decision looking back but you can never tell what the moisture could do. I'd say that in the moment it was probably a 50/50 decision that didn't really pay off but won't cost Australia the game. Basically it was a mistake every captain will make at some point but it hardly rates as a howler that will tarnish Clarke's career along the lines of Ponting putting England in at Edgbaston in 05.