The day of Phillip Hughes’ tragic death has been referred to as the “darkest day in Australian cricket”. As we saw on Day 2 of the Adelaide Test however, the game continues to march on.
Hughes’ life was remembered in emphatic fashion, with sensational centuries to Steve Smith and Michael Clarke proving to be the perfect follow-up to David Warner’s blistering Day 1 ton that was dedicated to Phillip.
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Having retired hurt during the opening day of the Test with 60 runs to his name, Captain Clarke scored arguably the greatest century of his legendary career upon his return to the crease the next day.
It was a historic century as it broke Ricky Ponting’s record of six triple-figure scores at the Adelaide Oval and kept his astonishing venue-average of 100.5 intact – this figure second only to Sir Donald Bradman at the venue.
His 28th Test ton was just his second of the calendar year and followed a spectacular innings in South Africa, in which he scored a magnificent 161 as he endured a barrage of bouncers from the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, as well as a fractured shoulder.
It was considered to be Clarke’s finest innings. Until now.
The lead-up to this Test match had been trying, to say the least, for the entire Australian cricket family, but for the skipper, the testing nature of this game was even greater given his close relationship with Hughes and his family.
As the chosen representative for the Hughes family, Clarke was called upon to give a number of heart-wrenching speeches to a heart-broken Australian public.
The impressive way in which he handled himself during this period of time has been well-documented, and has done nothing but increase his credentials as the leader of this Australian team – the most important position in the country.
His distress and grief was plain for all to see, yet he was still able to prove himself fit to the selectors and mentally prepare himself to feature in this first Test.
Additionally, the fact that Clarke had been struggling for form over an extended period of time raised questions about whether or not his place at the peak of the team was secure.
Such was the case, he was welcomed home from the disastrous tour of the UAE to an onslaught of queries concerning his capacity to lead the side after he was bamboozled by Pakistan’s tweakers in each innings despite being recognised as Australia’s best player of spin.
Apart from his series-winning ton against South Africa in March this year, Clarke hadn’t managed a score of note since his ton, also at Adelaide, in the second Test of the last Ashes series.
Despite this, these concerns were pushed aside with little more than a snort of derision as the public and a number of ex-Aussie Test stars took to social media to show their support for the skipper.
With the support of a nation behind him, but carrying the burden of a dodgy hamstring that had failed him on numerous occasions over the last few months, Clarke was still somehow able to get his body right to lead his men into battle even without his regular rehabilitation regime.
However, this would prove to be only the precursor to the next chapter in his troubling saga with his chronic back injury.
Once Clarke had withdrawn from the field on Day 1 to undergo scans, there was little hope that he would return, given the extreme pain that the injury had caused him in the past.
Yet the skipper pushed on, understanding the significance his innings would have not only on the match, but also on the memorial of his “little brother”, Phillip Hughes.
He returned to the field to support teammate Steve Smith and guide him to his fifth Test century and his highest Test score in a flourishing partnership between the future and current leaders of the Australian team.
Upon reaching his own triple-figure milestone, the skipper solemnly raised his bat and helmet to the crowd, kissing the Australian emblem as he recognised the enormity of what he had just achieved.
Having overcome such substantial hurdles on his way to his inspiring and touching century, the astonishing character of Michael Clarke cannot be understated.
Perhaps I’m still caught up in the moment – this being the first Test I’ve attended – but I’d like to think that our captain will one day be spoken about in the same regard as some of the greatest skippers to lead this country, whether or not his bruised and broken body cuts his career short.
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