Katich vs Clarke c. 2009 - Who was in the wrong?

[Gnske]

To Recap:

Setting:
Sydney Cricket Ground 2009, the Australian Locker Room
The Players:
Michael Hussey - In charge of the team song. The puppet master.
Michael Clarke - In charge of his own destiny. Wanted Hussey to sing it early so he could go to another better function or some harbourside orgy or Eyes Wide Shut Party with Lara Bingle.
Simon Katich - In charge of his own boiling blood. Wants Clarke's blood.
Ricky Ponting - Missing

Hussey doesn't sing the song early enough for Clarke's liking, the mood is crusty. Hard feelings all around. Then, according to Clarke:

"Huss and Kato seem to be enjoying the delay more and more, particularly at my expense.

"I think I hear them say something like 'F--- it, let's make him wait a bit longer'.

"And then I lose it.

"'Hang on, you're doing this out of spite, you f---ing dogs. Have the balls to say it to my face.'

"Kato fires up. 'What did you say?'

"'I said have the balls to say it to my face, you weak c---s.'

"Kato marches across the room and grabs me by the shirt collar. For a few seconds, we glare at each other and mutter obscenities. If he ever wanted to hit me, now is his chance, with me having a beer in each hand and my arms around my teammates’ shoulders. But he walks away. I stay in the circle."

Who was wronger? Now that the dust has finally settled.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Langer

 

[cnerd123]

Need to hear Katich's side of the story

 

[Chubb]

They all were. In a way this confrontation was the true end of the great Australian era of dominance. I guess you could even say it showed the generation gap between the hard-bitten gnarled pros like Katich who were old enough to remember the era before and the likes of Clarke who had only ever know Australian dominance.

 

[Line and Length]

Clarke put his social life ahead of the team.

 

[Daemon]

If Clarke actually said that to their face then he has balls tbh. But wanting to leave those celebrations for some other rubbish makes him lame af.

 

[Gnske]

Need to hear Katich's side of the story

Katich was unhappy Clarke was trying to rush the custodian of the team song, Michael Hussey, into belting out the tune and in an interview on SEN radio’s This is Your Sporting Life on Sunday, the former Australian opening batsman said he snapped when his younger teammate crossed the line.

“There’s been a fair bit said about it, I won’t deny that it happened,” Katich said.

“It was partly to do with the singing of the team song and the pressure that he was putting on Michael Hussey to really get on with it and get on with the night. That probably led to our altercation.

“But a big part of it from my point of view was what he said to me and the personal nature of what he said.

“I can’t repeat that on the show unfortunately because I’m sure there are some ladies out there listening.”

Did he call him Simone?

 

[_Ed_]

“I can’t repeat that on the show unfortunately because I’m sure there are some ladies out there listening.”

 

[Daemon]

Is memory failing me or did this directly lead to Katich’s exclusion from the side for a while when he obviously should have been playing?

 

[morgieb]

Is memory failing me or did this directly lead to Katich’s exclusion from the side for a while when he obviously should have been playing?

That's what Katich alleged. In practice we don't really know. Whitewash to Whitewash sort of debunked this IIRC.

 

[Gnske]

Is memory failing me or did this directly lead to Katich’s exclusion from the side for a while when he obviously should have been playing?

Supposedly, of course the selectors at the time and Clarke never admitted as much.

I remember Katich's remarkably bitter press conference after his de-selection vividly.

 

[GIMH]

Clarke went onto become a proper gun batsman not long after this, right? He absolutely gunned the 2009 Ashes and a couple of years later was the best in the world a year or two.

So I'm blaming the woman, obv.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Little known fact: the team song was GZA - Shadowboxin'

 

[Spikey]

Hussey. The idea that everyone has stick around in the dressing room after a win and wait for the team song be to sung is insane, and Hussey kept on delaying it so they could hang out with Matthew ****ing Hayden in the dressing room. Simon Katich has to answer for not knocking out Hussey as far as I'm concerned

Is memory failing me or did this directly lead to Katich’s exclusion from the side for a while when he obviously should have been playing?

That's what Katich alleged. In practice we don't really know. Whitewash to Whitewash sort of debunked this IIRC.

Australia just lost the Ashes 3-1 and had three 36yos and a 34yo in the team. Rad Haddin and Hussey were the two best batters in that series, and Ponting was Ponting. Katich was the odd one out. Someone was getting screwed and it was Katich. Clarke wasn't a selector at the time and in Whitewash to Whitewash Arthur says Clarke was comfortable with Katich coming in instead of Ed Cowan for the 2012-13 summer when Clarke was a selector.

iirc part of the backstory in Whitewash to Whitewash was that after a test earlier that summer, they wrapped things up pretty quickly so they could do whatever it was they wanted, when Clarke wanted to hang out in the dressing room

 

[Himannv]

David Warner

 

[ma1978]

On the one hand, its lame af to leave before the team song and Mr. Cricket was the ultimate arbiter

On the other hand, young Lara Bingle

Clarke wins

 

[Gob]