Michael Clarke

[GIMH]

Outstanding bloke. Australia should be proud of him - so should cricket.

 

[Burgey]

He has certainly gone above and beyond the call this past week.

 

[Jnr.]

THE EULOGY IN FULL: HOW MICHAEL CLARKE MOVED A NATION
He'll definitely be calling me a sook right now, that's for sure.
I’m deeply honoured to have been asked by Phillip’s family to speak today. I’m humbled to be in the presence of you, his family, his friends and his community. He was so proud of Macksville and it’s easy to see why today. Taken from the game, his family and loved ones at the age of just 25, he left the mark on our game that needs no embellishment.
I don’t know about you, but I keep looking for him. I know it’s crazy but I expect any minute to take a call from him. Or to see his face pop around the corner. Is this what we call the spirit? If so, then his spirit is still with me and I hope it never leaves.
I walked in the middle of the SCG on Thursday night. Those same blades of grass beneath my feet where he and I and so many of his mates here today have built partnerships, taken chances and lived out the dreams we painted in our heads as boys. The same stands where the crowds rose to their feet to cheer him on and that same fence he sent the ball to time and time again. And it’s now forever the place where he fell.
I stood there at the wicket I kneeled down and touched the grass, I swear he was with me. Picking me up off my feet to check if I was okay, telling me we just needed to dig in and get through to tea. Telling me off for that loose shot I played, chatting about what movie we might watch that night and then passing on a useless fact about cows. And I could see him swagger back to the other end, grinning at the bowler and call me through for a run with a booming voice.
The heart of the man that lived his life for this wonderful game we played and whose soul enriched not just our sport but all of our lives. Is this what indigenous Australians believe in a person’s spirit being connected to the land on what they walk? If so, I know they are right about the SCG. His spirit has touched it and it will forever be a sacred ground for me. I can feel his presence there and I can see how he has touched so many people around the world.
The tributes to him from cricket lovers kept me going. The photos, the words, the prayers and the sense of communion in this loss from people across the globe have shown me his spirit is in action. It has sustained me and overwhelmed me in equal measure and the love of my band of baggy green gold brothers and sisters has held me upright when I thought I could not proceed.
His spirit has brought us closer together, something I know must be him at work because it’s so consistent with how he played and lived. He always wanted to bring people together and he always wanted to celebrate his love for the game and its people.
Is this what we call the spirit of cricket? From the little girl in Karachi holding a candlelight tribute to masters of the game like Tendulkar, Warne and Lara showing their grief to the world, the spirit of cricket binds us all together. We feel it in the thrill of a cover drive or the taking of a screamer at gully, whether by a 20-year-old boy in Worcester or Brendan McCullum in Dubai. Just as significant to the players in a western suburb club game, as it is in a Test match.
The bonds leading to cricketers around the world putting their bats out, who saw people who didn’t know Phillip lay flowers at the gates of Lords and every cricketing nation on Earth to make its tribute. Players old and new rushed to his bedside where from wherever they heard the news to say their prayers and farewells.
This is what makes our game the greatest game in the world. Phillip’s spirit, which is now part of our game forever, will act as a custodian of the sport we all love. We must listen to it, we must cherish it, we must learn from it, we must dig in ... we must dig in and get through to tea and we must play on.
So rest in peace my little brother, I’ll see you out in the middle.

Beautiful words from Clarke.

 

[Adders]

Agree 100% with both.

I have always been a bit of a fan but how he has conducted himself throughout this tragedy has taking my respect for him to a whole new level.

Wonder what those clowns that booed him at the SCG in 2011 think of him now.

 

[Adders]

Beautiful words from Clarke.

I was out all day so didn't see any of the live footage of the funeral, but I just watched Clarkehs eulogy on cricinfo.........for the third time in less than a week he has had me blubbering like a child.

 

[cnerd123]

That was beautiful.

 

[GIMH]

Quote from my mate at the weekend

"Just saw Clarke on sky sports news. Had me in tears and not like normally when it's because we can't get him out."

to to front up three times the way he has has been outstanding. Eulogies are truly difficult to deliver but in front of an audience like that having bared it all once before, and read the family's statement before that, it really is remarkable.

 

[Jono]

hear hear

 

[fredfertang]

Has always had a tendency to be a top bloke, but has gone way beyond that these past few days - will be even more difficult than usual to wish a first baller on him next summer

 

[Burgey]

I don't like to type these things, because objectively, part of me thinks I really shouldn't be so affected by Hughes' death as I didn't know him and only watched him like millions of others. But fmd this has really knocked me about a fair bit. Not in an "Oh, isn't this sad?" way, but there's an actual element of grief, anger, the whole raft of emotions you go through when someone close to you dies.

So I can only imagine what the blokes who actually were close to Hughes must be going through. It's not just that he was young and apparently a good bloke - sadly, there are too many of those who die. I think it's that the game took him, and that must really hit home to all international cricketers, but even more so his team mates.

So yeah, well done Clarke on the leadership and strength he's shown in the past week. He could never have contemplated this happening when he became captain. No one could.

 

[Flem274*]

I heard a snip on the radio. He's a classier man than he is a batsman, and that makes him pretty special.

 

[anil1405]

What Clarke has done over the past week or so is beyond words.

Can't wait to see him come out to bat, score a 100 and point towards the sky. There was a hint of doubt looming around Clarke's international career after his recurring injuries but i guess now he will try 110% to push on and extend his career and score those runs for his little brother.

 

[Jnr.]

Clarke will score centuries in Adelaide and Sydney and he'll lift the World Cup. All with the spirit of Phillip Hughes beside him.

 

[Riggins]

Yea lock him in for 200 in Adelaide.

 

[morgieb]

Assuming he plays centuries at Adelaide and Brisbane are locks. Less so the other two but given when the Tests are we don't need big runs from him.

Anyway, what a man.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

The boy done good, just hope he can somehow recover and that this doesn't break him. Praying for a big hundred in this series coming up and a great world cup.

 

[Red]

Having delivered a eulogy earlier this year, I can say the combination of public speaking nerves and the emotion of grief makes it a bloody hard task. This wasn't really to do with Him being he Aust cricket captain, primarily. Clarke delivered a beautiful tribute to his mate first and foremost. And it was a great tribute.

 

[Top_Cat]

Agree with all of the above.

I don't like to type these things, because objectively, part of me thinks I really shouldn't be so affected by Hughes' death as I didn't know him and only watched him like millions of others. But fmd this has really knocked me about a fair bit. Not in an "Oh, isn't this sad?" way, but there's an actual element of grief, anger, the whole raft of emotions you go through when someone close to you dies.

Tend to think this is because it's because if you play the game long enough, you get your bell rung and it's a deeply shocking, terrifying experience. What gets you back out there willing to face up is faith in your ability to avoid getting hit, your gear and, last resort, if your gear fails, that you'll be okay because someone dying from getting hit never happens. What happened absolutely shatters that. Anyone who's ever been hit or even just spooked by a quick one they didn't even see but just missed them feels the anxiety. Haven't picked up a bat for 8 years and I know I do, like it's happening now. So you feel a combined anxiety of the practitioner as well as sympathy from afar as an observer. My view, anyway...

 

[cnerd123]

Plus if you've ever derived joy from watching a batsman get intimidated or even hit by a fast bowler, or if you've been an intimidating fast bowler yourself, you're bound to feel some guilt and remorse from what has just happened.

 

[Riggins]

Just watched his 161* on youtube. Crazy to think how close some of those early bumpers were to smacking him right where the Prince got hit. Obviously it's super unlikely even if you get hit in the same spot for the consequences to be the same, but it's really strange to think about.