Michael Clarke is going through the most critical phase of his career. The Australian cricket captain’s failure to produce substantial scores in the ongoing Ashes series has provoked strong reactions with many advising him to announce his retirement.
The Aussies, of course, have a reputation to maintain. It’s not uncommon for them to sound off players before they wield the axe. Their message when a player is going through a lengthy bad phase is simple: quit voluntarily or be sacked unceremoniously. Unlike India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where selectors and former players generally take a sympathetic view of senior players – rarely criticising them publicly – Australia have successfully pursued a ruthless policy where past heroics count for little.
Clarke’s predecessor Ricky Ponting is a case in point. He was in a similar slump, accumulating just 32 runs in three Test matches against South Africa before calling it quits two-and-a-half years ago. Arguably Australia’s best batsman after the venerable Don Bradman, Ponting had been copping a lot of criticism before deciding that enough was enough and caving in to pressure.
Ponting was one of the greatest captains Australia had produced, leading his nation to two World Cup titles among other notable achievements, but his CV was blotted by the fact that he lost the Ashes series a whopping three times.
Clarke, under whom Australia began the current series with a win, has since lost the second and third Tests to concede a 2-1 lead with two more matches to go.
Under Clarke, Australia have already lost one Ashes series – in 2013 – and although a 5-0 thrashing of England in 2013-14 helped him to even out things, defeat in the current series would certainly complicate matters for him.
But the player himself swatted away suggestions that he was finished as a player with contempt, with the 34-year-old, who has scored 28 Test centuries, saying his desire to play on has not diminished.
“The criticisms of my game at the moment are deserved and I wouldn’t expect anything different, especially as the captain of the team,” he said in a column for Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
“But I’ve heard there have been a few articles questioning me for not having that hunger inside me. I think somebody said they could ‘see it in my eyes’ that I was finished after this series.
“That’s a complete load of rubbish.”
Clarke should remember that his English counterpart, Alastair Cook, too, was a victim of intense pressure after failing to register a century in two years before hitting 105 against the West in Barbados earlier this year.
He was in no doubt that his poor form with the bat also affected his performance as captain.
“It’s one of those things that when you score runs ... naturally your confidence is up a bit more and you’re probably more decisive in your decision making,” Cook said yesterday
“When things go well, you get the praise for it and, when things don’t go quite so well, you’re the fall guy.” Cook could well take some inspiration from his rival’s words.
