Clarke’s retirement – and book – ends Australian cricket’s civil war

One would think this little period in between Tests of the Australia versus New Zealand series would be a quiet time, yet two headlines ensured the Australian cricket fraternity still had plenty to discuss.

The first was the selection of Shaun Marsh to replace the injured Usman Khawaja.

Ever the polarising player, Marsh’s recall certainly had tongues wagging and cricket fans extremely animated. I’ve already had my say on this topic – as have many people – so there is no need to cover old ground here.

The second story to hit the media centred on the release of ex-skipper Michael Clarke’s 2015 Ashes Diary.

This particular story has a lot more layers to it, as the book seems destined to open up a few old wounds, and perhaps even draw light on some of which the general public were unaware.

Tour diaries and autobiographies from cricketers are nothing new, and usually range from being painfully mundane to outright explosive in their revelations.

Though I haven’t read Clarke’s book yet, the snippets released so far suggest that Clarke’s Ashes diary will fall a little closer to the latter category, for it seems as though Pup isn’t going to be shy of firing off a few salvos.

Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and John Buchanan are just some who appear to be in Clarke’s sights, and if you’ve followed his career, none of those targets should come as a surprise. Each of those individuals has been critical of Clarke in the past, and it seems as though he’ll be using this book to return serve.

Over the course of his career, there have been a number of relationships Clarke has had that could – at best – be described as ‘strained’.

There is no need to go through them in detail again, but incidents and stories involving Clarke and the aforementioned three, plus Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Damien Martyn, Mike Hussey, Ricky Ponting, Stephen O’Keefe, the Australian selectors, and Cricket Australia – to name a few – have all painted a clear picture that things were not always rosy in the Australian change room.

At any given time, it seemed Clarke was having issues with someone.

That’s without even mentioning ‘Homework-gate’, Mickey Arthur’s sacking, Brad Haddin being dropped, bickering with coach Darren Lehmann, and countless other dramas in which Clarke was a central figure.

To say it was a ‘civil war’ is probably stepping into the hyperbole chamber, but there is no doubt that Clarke’s time in the Australian cricket team was a tumultuous one.

With the former Australian captain having now retired, and his last book (as a player) now released, it’s hoped that a controversial period in Australian cricket is finally over, save from the expected retorts from anyone Clarke had a crack at in his diary.

Whether you believe Clarke was the common denominator in a number of major issues, or that he was a victim of a media assassination – something that certainly warrants a bigger discussion – it’s evident that he certainly didn’t have an easy relationship with absolutely everyone involved in Australian cricket.

Nor should he be expected to, for that would be almost impossible.

There have always been feuds and drama in the Australian cricket team, dating right back to Don Bradman’s time, and no doubt beyond. The modern world and the 24-hour news cycle ensure that every minor issue is magnified and reported on, and these days very little gets swept under the carpet or missed. Even if it is, we then have players writing tell-all books, and spicing up the supposed drama to aid sales.

Yet all that has happened over the last five to six years within the Australian cricket team can’t simply be put down to exaggerated gossip, or the media’s new reach and influence. Something definitely wasn’t right.

Whoever was to blame – if there even is a singular person – is a largely irrelevant point now, because all of the major players have retired.

It’s therefore expected that the team can move forward under Steve Smith’s leadership, and put all the backstabbing, politics, strained relationships and public feuds behind them.

It may not have been a civil war, but whatever it was, it’s hopefully now over.