Michael Clarke

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BackFootPunch

But if I had to pick a batsman to bat for my life itself, I'd pick Clarke every time.

---

I think this speaks volumes about the way Clarke's batting right now. If you go back a year or two and asked anyone this question (and excluded Bradman from consideration, naturally), most people would jump on the Border, Gavaskar, Boycott or S Waugh train - getting a dour, grinding batsman to be the one batting for your life.

Clarke is not dour. He is not a grinder or a grafter who eliminates risk to bat for long periods of time. He turns games and digs Australia out of trouble while playing his shots and taking the attack to bowlers - the South Africa knock being the crucial example. Plus he alleviates the pressure while he does it, helping out the guy at the other end. It means he builds partnerships and gets the best out of the guy up the other end (200+ with Cowan).

For someone to pick Clarke to bat for their life ahead of a Gavaskar, Border or Waugh (Boycott not such a good example; he'd sell his grandmother for a ton), shows just how good a batsman he is.


Getting back to the point of the OP, one reason Clarke is rarely seen as a home-track bully is because of his technique, IMO. He isn't inherently more susceptible to the swinging or seaming ball a la Sehwag, and he's the best non-Subcontinent player of spin I've seen. His success isn't determined by the state of the pitch. While there is definite correlation between less batting success and playing overseas, I'm not sure there is causation there. Honestly, I reckon it will even itself out as Australia plays overseas over the next couple of years. His form will transfer across.

It's just a function of his purple patch coinciding with some momentous home series' more than anything. He is the best-equipped Oz batsman against spin bowling and can clearly rise up to the occasion against quality bowling on a green top if the situation demands as he has demonstrated.

He looks like he has just entered the form of his life and a good 2-3 years like this would clear out the statistical discrepancies too, I reckon.

Stats show him to be a mediocre player away from home, but he definitely isnt imo... had a great ashes 2009, great tour of SL, played well on tough pitches in WI, and scored probably one of the best hundred of the last decade in SA. Plus, his tons have all come when the team was in dire straits and he got them out of trouble every time.
Then theres the fact that he has the ability to utterly pound the attack with brisk scoring, and looks just effing graceful doing it... yeah he's awesome :wub:

The guy is in the form of his life, its kind of like the patch Ponting had in the early-mid 2000s... if he maintains this run for even 2-3 years, he'll become an ATG imo...

His awesome home stats are probably largely because of a triple and double century not out both of which have come this year(Can't remember if Adelaide was not out either). 500 runs without losing a wicket would provide a major boost to anyone's career stats.

That said loving the way he's been playing. He's had some luck but he never lets the bowlers bog him down and more often than not they end up falling apart when he gets in the groove.

You see a batsman and you know he's great. His stats of late have been bearing this out with enough weight, but even otherwise, I've never thought of him as a flat track guy. He's probably the most complete Australian batsman to "watch" since Mark Waugh. Footwork, especially against spin, is just about the most beautiful thing going around in cricket today.

Has Clarke ever been called a home track bully anyway? He tonned up on debut in India iirc. They're about the most foreign conditions a young batsman can face early in a career. Fairly sure he put those questions to bed before anyone even asked them.

I think he doesn't get enough short stuff early in his digs, tbh.

The thing is with Clarke you knew from his very first innings he was something special; as it turned out, the Ponting of his generation. So it's no surprise (at least to me) he's doing what he's doing now. And I have consistently posted this about Clarke so it's not hindsight. I guess my point is in someways it's vey easy to tell very early on who's going to make it and who's not going to make it at test level. It's why I mourn for the current state of Australia's batting.

People underrating Devilliers in this thread. The guy is an out-and-out gun. Averaging 63.90 since the start of 2010 and was ranked #1 in the world alongside Clarke only a few months ago.

I'd still take Clarke I reckon, but its not ridiculous to put AB in the same category.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jono

People underrating Devilliers in this thread. The guy is an out-and-out gun. Averaging 63.90 since the start of 2010 and was ranked #1 in the world alongside Clarke only a few months ago.

I'd still take Clarke I reckon, but its not ridiculous to put AB in the same category.

---

The blokes who really get under-rated in threads are players like Sangakkara and Chanderpaul who are every bit as good as Clarke and have been for a consistently much longer period but don't play high profile series and therefore don't get noticed as much.

Clarke would probably just about make my World XI but it's not clear cut.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jono

People underrating Devilliers in this thread. The guy is an out-and-out gun. Averaging 63.90 since the start of 2010 and was ranked #1 in the world alongside Clarke only a few months ago.

I'd still take Clarke I reckon, but its not ridiculous to put AB in the same category.

---

ABDV has suddenly dropped off the radar as he had a quiet series in England. The reason for this is he is keeping. Fortunately for SA they are a talented team and can still cope with the drop off of a quality player like ABDV. Although he wasn't in the same class as a batsman Alec Stewart was sacrificed for many years to provide "Balance" to the side and his record suffered as a result.

Yeah exactly. Doing what AB is doing right now ain't easy, to state the obvious.

Also re: PEWS, totally agree. Chanderpaul and Sanga are monsters but are often forgotten in threads like this in favour of *insert player from Ind/SA/Aus/Eng*

I do think you can make an argument for Clarke best in the world. But you can also do so for Kallis, Amla, AB, Sanga and Chanders.

someone do a current world XI thread.

The best thing about Michael Clarke:

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/531...kylyboldly.jpg

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/7...clarkelook.jpg

Yeh, decent shout, Clarke showing the way in terms of WAGs; instead of growing up and settling down with a homely type, went several categories higher after Bingle. The Bradman of the pull.