An interesting article on Fox Sports website today with comments from many different readers regarding Australia’s recent cricket form. I may not be alone in my belief that young Michael Clarke is simply not good enough.
Some quotes as follows
Michael Clarke “I don’t know how we lost that game, to be honest,”
1004: Tim says: Michael Clarke is utterly hopeless. He was clueless as captain last night. His slow batting puts the following batsmen for Australia under Huge pressure. Clarke needs to be immediately dropped from both the T20 and ODI teams, and there is no way that he should be made our next Test captain. Put Brad Hodge back in T20 and ODI teams for Clarke, and make Cameron White captain for these two teams. As soon as we get Tait, Harris, and Hilfy back for ODIs and T20, we’ll be a hugely improved team!
1010: Brent says: I think that Michael Clarke should perhaps be looking no further than himself? As soon as the pressure was put back on him he crumbled! Every time they flicked him up on TV he looked a shattered and beaten captain which I’m sure only fuelled the confidence of the batsmen!
1043: Martin Corey says: Clarke isn’t a captain’s bootlace! The most overrated cricketer in the world! I can’t wait for Rick to get back. He’ll come in for the injured Marsh. They didn’t have enough runs to begin with so it was always going to be hard to win with that small total. They should go in with four frontline bowlers instead of five. Watson and Clarke can make up the 5th bowler. That leaves a spot open for one more batsman. Brad Hodge? There definitely needs to be a few changes. We need to win this series if we’re any hope of winning the Ashes! The team should be Watson, Haddin, Ponting, Clarke, White, Hussey, Hodge, Smith, Johnson, Doherty, Siddle.
1056: Shaun says: It was a disgrace to watch the way we went through the motions. Drop Clarke as captain and give it to Mike Hussey. The bowling attack was shocking.
1109: Alan says: Michael Clarke needed to stop rubbing his head watching balls fly into the pavilion and give some direction to the bowlers. Put pressure on Australia these days and they’ve showed they will crumble.
1110: Peter says: Nothing short of “inept captaincy”. It was a poor choice and use of bowlers and pitiful leadership. There was no change to break Sri Lanka’s momentum and the discipline was soft. Would Alan Border, Mark Taylor or Steve Waugh have led the team the way Clarke did? Game over Michael!
1122: AJ says: It was poor captainship led by extremely poor bowling. Clarke did not have confidence in the bowlers and the bowlers justified it by bowling shorter or fuller deliveries. Not many yorkers, bouncers, change of pace and tempting deliveries outside off to tailenders.
1128: Crossy says: How did they do that?? Poor captaincy (taking off successful bowlers and not bowling a spinner who has bowled three overs for eight runs) and poor bowling (Johnson seems to be uncoachable). Where are Hopes, Clark and Hodges? The selection panel needs as many changes as the team.
1156: Stephen says: If Australia lost trying different things on the park then its ok. Clarke did nothing to try and stem the flow. Steve Waugh would have directed the bowlers to bowl at the block hole and brought the field in. Clarke looked like a kid lost at the Melbourne Show. Get rid of him from 20/20 and the one-day squad. He is a liability these days.
1207: Brian says: If that was Pakistan who lost a game that way, wouldn’t match fixing be raised?? Michael Clarke doesn’t have what it takes to captain Australia at any level.
1216: Scott Thomas says: If there was one thing to sum up the inability to be a leader and massive ego of Michael Clarke, it was when he decided to bowl himself at the end of the game, while a specialist leg spinner fielded on the boundary who had bowled 3 overs for 8 runs. The ‘ I’m bowling myself ‘ decision was incomprehensible. Cameron White has been groomed as a captain since his teenage years, has captained his state from his early 20′s, and even Ponting seeks White’s input over Clarke’s in ODI’s. Cameron White for captain of ALL formats!! Get White in the Test team ASAP and let Clarke be the talented outcast that he is and just score runs.
1245: Marcus says: Clarke’s lack of captaincy was exposed last night. Rubbing your head looking dejected only gives the batsmen confidence & your own players no confidence. Ricky’s captaincy has been left wanting on a few too many occasions also. It raises the question of who does Aust have who is a world class player, captain material and has a long career ahead in the Aust side? Im at a loss. Looks like its going to be a few long years.
1245: Reece says: The problem is Michael Clarke, no doubt about it. Everyone knows it even CA, as others have said, they are just backing there call back in circa 2000m, calling him the next Ponting or Leader for Australia. The guy can bat but not at one-day level and these days there are better fielders than him to add spark to the field i.e. Doherty.
1246: Marc says: Michael Clarke lacks the ability as a player and as a captain to put Australia back on the winning list. He is a liability as a limited-overs batsman and is a liability in the field when it comes to utilising players at the right time, arrogance will let him down. Brad Haddin would make a better captain in the limited-overs competition in Ricky Ponting’s absence.
1251: Chris says: Some captains are tactically astute, some are leaders of men. Ponting, is not the former, but is the latter. Waugh was the former and was sometimes lacking in the latter. Mark Taylor was both. Michael Clarke is neither. I seriously, seriously have got to the point with Clarke that if he isn’t dropped from the side and disendorsed as the next captain, then I won’t be watching the Aussies play cricket. I’d rather pay $5 and watch the Weetbix Sheffield Shield. Watching the body language over the last two years (and unfortunately, like the selectors, trying to deny it in my own mind), I’ve come up with the following opinions on the following national players: Clarke – prima donna, state cricketer only, not a leader, tactically inastute. Johnson – tempremental and inconsisent. North – out of form. Hussey – too old and out of form. Hauritz – grade cricketer only. Siddle – same as Haurtiz. Haddin – Tim Paine is as good a batsman and a better keeper and younger. This might sound like another Aussie-bashing, disloyal supporter, but CA have seriously got to start listening to those that pay the aussie team’s wages. The general consensus is much the same. And I can guarantee that if they did a survey – a proper survey, that most supporters would rather see us lose the Ashes with Ferguson, Khawaja and some inexperienced but inform the young players in the side, than watch Dad’s Army dithering and fluffing their way through five Tests. Try that for a project CA.
AND FINALLY
1324: Michael says: For Clarke to talk about a soft underbelly is most interesting. He is the epitomy of style over substance, and why CA persist with their complete support of him, despite his obvious failings, is beyond me. He bats for himself in all forms of the game, and scores far too slowly. He preens and struts about, but offers no leadership of substance. He left his teammates on tour to go and see his girlfriend. What a leader of men! On performance he should be a batsman in the Test side, nothing more, and even there his performances should, like everyone elses, be scrutinised.
