Another captains knock from Clarke

[RandB]

It's the way Clarke is getting out that is pathetic. First innings fending at a ball that could easily have been left and then chopping the ball on to the stumps. In both cases not too cramped and either poor decision or execution on the 2nd dismissal.

Ponting I think needs to settle before he tries some of his more cute shots as well. Not sure either of these guys have their heads in the right place atm. The responsibility falls to Hussey once again.

 

[dan warna]

Just has to hang on for two more tests so he can smack the minnows and re-establish his captaincy credentials, or wait till the ODI's so white can set the fields for him...

 

[aflcliche]

That was one of the best 20s I've ever seen.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

That was one was one of the best 20s I've ever seen.

Cant have been as good as Watson's 13 in the first innings.

Well, according to Robert Craddock anyway.

 

[sherb]

You'd be hard pressed to play a dumber innings than that as a Test batsman.

And this bloke's the Vice-Captain. Heaven help us.

 

[BORK]

I was willing him on then. Didn't think he needed to "when in doubt power out" as much as he did but he seemed to be picking the right balls and leaving others. Thought he was gonna keep it up till the last over of the day.

Like someone said he gives his wicket away more often then a bowler taking it from him lately.

 

[sherb]

I was willing him on then. Didn't think he needed to "when in doubt power out" as much as he did but he seemed to be picking the right balls and leaving others. Thought he was gonna keep it up till the last over of the day.

Like someone said he gives his wicket away more often then a bowler taking it from him lately.

There was no need for that whatsoever. We have all tomorrow to bat.

Anyway, Clarke has plenty of time to sit back in the stands thinking about what a sensational little cameo he played. Much like Ponting probably did after his 10-ball innings of 12 in the first innings.

 

[dan warna]

There was no need for that whatsoever. We have all tomorrow to bat.

Anyway, Clarke has plenty of time to sit back in the stands thinking about what a sensational little cameo he played. Much like Ponting probably did after his 10-ball innings of 12 in the first innings.

Punter is at the end of a great career, clarke is a good batsman. He'll never be a great.

He'll be better if he had a good team around him, but in a crumbling team, he looks worse.

Should never have been appointed captain in waiting, should have had to earn it, if he was good enough, which he isn't.

 

[BORK]

Punter is at the end of a great career, clarke is a good batsman. He'll never be a great.

He'll be better if he had a good team around him, but in a crumbling team, he looks worse.

Should never have been appointed captain in waiting, should have had to earn it, if he was good enough, which he isn't.

Hussey, Watson, and Haddin have all looked good in a crumbling team this summer. Your comment just implies he is a huge downhill skier.

 

[SugarHealey]

Others have already said it, but what's disappointing is that Clarke should be at the peak of his powers. He should be the premiere batsman in the team. I think the problem is he may just not be good enough for the number 4 spot (let alone number 3) and that's a real worry. In the brave new world Australian cricket is now facing you really want your future leader leading from the front, not hiding at number 5 or 6.

As for Ponting, he's clearly in decline and at 36 shouldn't have to bat at 3. After 130+ tests at first drop no-one would begrudge him a spell at 4 or 5. But who..............?

I've been bleating on about the number 3 spot for a few years on this board, reminding people that first drop has been a very tough spot to fill over the years with the long list of players who've preferred not to bat there (or have tried and failed) reflecting how tough the role is - Border, Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Jacques Kallis and even Sachin Tendulkar have all preferred to be one or more spots down the order.

I think it's a fallacy that the captain has to be the best batsman, Or the best footballer in the team.

He has to be the best Leader & Tactician, has to be respected by all players. Not necessarily loved, but totally respected & admired. Someone to lead the way & get the team playing the same game together.
Has to have & exhibit guts & make the necessary calls for the best of the team, from all angles.
Ponting & Clarke may well have been the most talented batsmen around recently, but they are Not the best leaders around.
This I think is where the problems stem from.

 

[BORK]

Npt meaning to make that a potshot, am agreeing with a fair bit of what you said just pointing out others can handle the heat

 

[BORK]

I think it's a fallacy that the captain has to be the best batsman, Or the best footballer in the team.

He has to be the best Leader & Tactician, has to be respected by all players. Not necessarily loved, but totally respected & admired. Someone to lead the way & get the team playing the same game together.
Has to have & exhibit guts & make the necessary calls for the best of the team, from all angles.
Ponting & Clarke may well have been the most talented batsmen around recently, but they are Not the best leaders around.
This I think is where the problems stem from.

May not need to be the best batsman but a captain needs to be able to lead by example and stand up when the team needs them most. Its not called a captains knock in cricket or a captains goal in football for nothing.

Its about cometh the hour, cometh the man. Where is Clarke?

 

[dan warna]

Hussey, Watson, and Haddin have all looked good in a crumbling team this summer. Your comment just implies he is a huge downhill skier.

not everyone can be allan border or steve waugh

some players are just mark waugh or michael clarke and thats ok.

Its when you are marcus north or phillip hughes, thats when there's a problem.

Its like foolsmate with Hughes, 3 bounces and a one on the stumps and he's out...

 

[Goldencats]

Michael Clarke = ****en sheila

 

[Total_Juddshanks]

might as well just sticky this thread.

The way Clarke gives his wicket away is just laughable, and he is the opposite of a big game performer- call him the Anti-Steve-Waugh.

 

[dan warna]

might as well just sticky this thread.

The way Clarke gives his wicket away is just laughable, and he is the opposite of a big game performer- call him the Anti-Steve-Waugh.

I know he's a joke now but greg yeah yeah matthews embarrassed a lot of batsman with his courage.

averaged 40 in test cricket against some of the most fearful attacks in history.

Along with border stood up to the windians in their pomp and copped a beating.

His big mouth and attitude got him sacked, and without a doubt a bit of a knob in the public eye, but admirable person with the bat.

consider during similar attacks, mark waugh averaged 42, the talent gap between matthews and waugh is laughable.

I remember matthews getting hit often and regularly and still ekeing out an innings.

If players put value on their wicket like greg yeah yeah matthews, we'd rarely lose a test match. Its difficult admiring the cricket ability of someone from NSW , and matthews didn't have that much, but standing up to the windians earned plaudits from me IMO.

 

[peternorth]

does clarke escape criticism from the media for his poor form and other cricketing facets (ie t20)?

 

[BORK]

might as well just sticky this thread.

The way Clarke gives his wicket away is just laughable, and he is the opposite of a big game performer- call him the Anti-Steve-Waugh.

Could turn into a timeless thread. Bumped by the luvvies when he tonnes it up on a 600 pitch and bumped for a whinge when he lets us down again and again.... and again.

 

[GreekLunatic]

Maybe Michael Clarke should be a cricketer first then a try hard David Beckham. Someone should make him put the hard yards in to get back to form.

 

[BORK]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24l5ZviHuh0

 

[Tyberious Funk]

I wonder how many people in this thread are Victorians that want to see White take over as Australian captain.

I'm not particularly keen on see Clarke the next captain. But there really aren't any other options. Both Katich and Hussey are too old (and Katich may have played his last test). Watson and Haddin already carry too much responsibility. None of the bowlers are really up to it. It really doesn't leave many options unless you bring in someone from Shield cricket. And when you look at the players that are even BALLPARK close to the Test team... only Cam White has any captaincy experience... and he's not a Test-class batsman.

Doesn't bode well for the future.

 

[dan warna]

I wonder how many people in this thread are Victorians that want to see White take over as Australian captain.

I'm not particularly keen on see Clarke the next captain. But there really aren't any other options. Both Katich and Hussey are too old (and Katich may have played his last test). Watson and Haddin already carry too much responsibility. None of the bowlers are really up to it. It really doesn't leave many options unless you bring in someone from Shield cricket. And when you look at the players that are even BALLPARK close to the Test team... only Cam White has any captaincy experience... and he's not a Test-class batsman.

Doesn't bode well for the future.

averaged 30 batting at 8, i wonder given a batting spot like 5 or 6 how he would go from his 4 tests 2 years ago, batting with the tail.

standing up to international bowlers hasn't been that hard for him, given his odi form.

He certainly isn't that much worse an option now that smith, hughes, clarke form wise.

He's also a fine fielder.

but clarke is the appointed one and khawaja is appointed next in line <shrug> the selectors have named paine as the captain of the PMs XI so they don't want white embarrassing them by winning or showing good form, as he nearly did with the vic's against the english side.

I suspect much like not including mike hussey in 05 Test team, they'd rather lose than be proven wrong.

 

[amer]

The bloke has a heart the size of a pea.

Disgusting call. See his second innings against England at Lord's in 2009. That was as gutsy and full of heart an innings as I've seen.

He'll make an excellent captain too. We'll see how many captain's knocks he makes when he's actually captain.

 

[peternorth]

Disgusting call. See his second innings against England at Lord's in 2009. That was as gutsy and full of heart an innings as I've seen.

He'll make an excellent captain too. We'll see how many captain's knocks he makes when he's actually captain.

that and his debut test ton v india were massive innings.

 

[BORK]

Disgusting call. See his second innings against England at Lord's in 2009. That was as gutsy and full of heart an innings as I've seen.

He'll make an excellent captain too. We'll see how many captain's knocks he makes when he's actually captain.

LOL You want gutsy and full of heart look at Steve Waugh's series against the West Indies in 1995 or Shane Warne in 2005.

His 151 on debut was great. His 98 when nonone else scored fifty against
New Zealand was the best he has shown in the form of captains knock potential (pity he couldn't finish it). His 138 at Lords well done but we did not get close to winning.

So what am I crediting here?? 2 innings since debut out of 111..

His career stats compared to his teamates show he fails hardest compared to the rest of them when the batting conditions are toughest and comes to the party better than anyone on a 500-600 batsmans paradise keeping his career average looking nice.

Your logic of someone scoring captains knocks when they are captain is like me saying that someone with an average of 28 at sheild level would make a great test batsman and we will see how much they average when they are in the test team.

I just hope that Shane Watson can improve his fifty to century conversion rate and drop to 3 in the batting order. He is a guy that has heart, values his wicket and loves playing for and representing his country. Has shown grit in getting over so many injuries to get to his career best form. Not an annointed spoilt brat. And just as marketable if thats what Cricket Australia wants.