It’s quite astonishing how quickly fortunes can change in cricket.
Clarke, lauded for his captaincy in the World Cup, winning in style, with Australia only picking up the one defeat against New Zealand on route. Cook, lacking in form, dropped as one day captain days before the World Cup started, question marks over whether he would ever captain England again in any form of the game…and that’s without taking the 5-0 drubbing in Australia into account.
Now, England have won the Ashes in style. Cook has rediscovered his form with the bat and his captaincy is finally being praised. Clarke however seems a shadow of his former self, apologising after every game for his poor performances, looking like a shell of the player he once was. Lost and dejected.
Clarke announced his retirement during the 4th test. Something which I can’t really understand. Why retire mid-test? Why in the middle of an Ashes series? Why after only one evening of discussions with friends and family? How did the Aussie press get hold of the story and why did he not get to announce the decision himself? I do feel there’s more to this story than meets the eye, though I doubt we’ll ever know the facts.
Whatever truly happened, Clarke should be considered a great of the game. He has captained brilliantly at times, some of his batting performances have been sublime and many of his centuries should go down in Aussie folklore. None more so than the century he scored vs India, closely following on from the death of his good friend Philip Hughes and fighting through the pain of a back injury.
I have no doubt that the death of Hughes affected Clarke’s game and outlook on life. Nothing makes you think more about what truly matters than an incident like that. He dealt with the aftermath beautifully with his very public grieving, finally winning the hearts of some Aussie doubters in the process…but i’ve no doubt that it must have taken a huge amount out of him emotionally and mentally.
Whatever Aussies think of the man, I personally feel that Clarke should be considered a legend of the game and if I had one i'd tip my hat to you, Pup!
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