Full name
Michael John Clarke
Born
April 2, 1981, Liverpool, New South Wales
Current age 37 years 20 days
Major teams Australia, Hampshire, New South Wales, Pune Warriors
Nickname Pup, Clarkey
Playing role Middle-order batsman
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox
Height
1.78 m
Test debut |
India v Australia at Bengaluru, Oct 6-10, 2004 scorecard |
Last Test |
England v Australia at The Oval, Aug 20-23, 2015 scorecard |
Test statistics |
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ODI debut |
Australia v England at Adelaide, Jan 19, 2003 scorecard |
Last ODI |
Australia v New Zealand at Melbourne, Mar 29, 2015 scorecard |
ODI statistics |
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T20I debut |
New Zealand v Australia at Auckland, Feb 17, 2005 scorecard |
Last T20I |
Australia v Sri Lanka at Perth, Oct 31, 2010 scorecard |
T20I statistics |
|
First-class debut |
1999/00 |
Last First-class |
England v Australia at The Oval, Aug 20-23, 2015 scorecard |
List A debut |
2000/01 |
Last List A |
Australia v New Zealand at Melbourne, Mar 29, 2015 scorecard |
T20s debut |
Essex v Hampshire at Chelmsford, Jul 2, 2004 scorecard |
Last T20s |
Pune Warriors v Kolkata Knight Riders at Pune, May 19, 2012 scorecard |
A batsman of great talent and enormous ambition, Michael Clarke emerged in Australia's golden years, was with them through the troughs that followed, and eventually led them back to the No.1 Test ranking. At his peak Clarke was ranked the best Test batsman in the world, testament not only to his skill but his hard work in overcoming a chronic back injury that caused him progressively more trouble as his career advanced. Also an intuitive, aggressive captain, Clarke took over from Ricky Ponting in 2011 and while the team did not always run harmoniously during his tenure, he was at the helm for an Ashes whitewash in 2013-14 and a World Cup triumph in 2015. His retirement came at the end of a lost Ashes campaign in England in 2015, but he could be satisfied with a career punctuated by fine achievements.
As a young man Clarke could do anything with the bat, but he matured into one of the game's most professional, reliable and focussed players. A year into his Test career he learnt that he had to shed the flourishes that made him a golden child in order to shine consistently at elite level. Breathtaking centuries on debut away and at home stamped him as a shot-maker to savour, but his method in later years was to find gaps by caressing the ball along the ground. In the field his throw was as fast and accurate as anything in the game, and he could winkle out batsmen with his disarming left-arm spin.
Mostly he became known for his immaculate driving and slicing of the ball through impossible angles. His peak year was 2012, which brought 1595 runs at 106.33 and stamped him as the most in-form batsman in the world. The year began with a monumental 329 not out against India at the SCG and continued with 210 in Adelaide, where he joined Wally Hammond and Don Bradman as the only men to score a triple-century and a double-hundred in the same series. Later in the year came back-to-back double-centuries against South Africa in Brisbane and Adelaide. There seemed little he could not do.
But the team harmony disintegrated on the tour of India that followed in 2013, when Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur suspended four players in what became known as the homework saga. The Ashes series in England was then lost, but Clarke's Australians regained the urn with a 5-0 clean sweep in Australia at the end of the year. Clarke's gutsy century in Cape Town in 2014, completed with a broken shoulder thanks to a bouncer barrage from Morne Morkel, led to Australia's return to No.1, if only temporarily. Later in the year a statesmanlike Clarke led the country in mourning the death of his close friend Phillip Hughes, and an emotional century in Adelaide followed in what Clarke called the most important match of his career.
Although Clarke's ability and dedication could never be questioned, he nevertheless struggled at times to win over sections of the public, due in part to his A-list celebrity status, large endorsements and high-profile private life. There were occasions when he was booed in his own country, and at times he was accused of being too aloof around the team environment. But whatever his off-field status, Clarke will be remembered as a batsman of class and a captain who took the game on, and emerged with an enviable record in both spheres.
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January 19, 2003
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Makes his ODI debut as a 21-year-old in the 2002-03 VB Series, keeps his head when four wickets go down for eight runs to steer Australia to victory over England
in Adelaide.
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May 21, 2003
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Picks up the Man-of-the-Match award in only his second one-dayer for an assured, unbeaten 75 and three vital catches against West Indies
in St Lucia, to help extend Australian winning streak to 20 ODIs.
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November 18, 2003
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Adds to his burgeoning reputation with a solid one-day tri-series in India, culminating in a Man-of-the-Match performance in the final
in Kolkata. He thrashes a 28-ball 44 before his two middle-order strikes suck the momentum out of the Indian chase.
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October 6-10, 2004
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Already deemed a future captain and owner of the biggest
sports-sponsorship deal in Australian cricket, he make a magical entry to Test cricket. In the
first Test of the high-pressure series against India, he makes a dazzling 151 to swing the match Australia's way.
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November 3-5, 2004
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Rounds off his first Test series with mind-boggling figures of 6 for 9 with his left-arm spin on a rank turner
in Mumbai. It's still not enough to hand Australia victory in a game that lasted little more than 200 overs.
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November 18-21, 2004
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Australian audiences are treated to another stunning century by their boy wonder in his first home Test. Against New Zealand
in Brisbane, he strokes a sublime 141 to revive Australia from 128 for 4.
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July 21-24, 2005
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After a rough spell in the Tests in New Zealand earlier in the year, returns to form with a pivotal second-innings 91 in his first Ashes match,
at Lord's. It's the highest score of the Test, and sets Australia up for a 1-0 lead in the memorable series.
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November 21, 2005
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Just ten months after everything seemed to be going his way, he is
axed from the squad for the third Test against West Indies. It follows a poor Ashes campaign, and increasing questions over the solidity of his technique.
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April 8, 2006
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He slams 395 runs in the two Pura Cup matches following his sacking from the national side, but the selectors ignore him for the home-and-away Test series against South Africa, before
recalling him for the Bangladesh tour.
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March 13-April 28, 2007
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Is a vital part of a dominant Australia in the West Indies, where they collect their third consecutive World Cup victory after an unbeaten run in the tournament. Clarke piles on 436 runs at 87.20, the best average among the top 10 run-getters.
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November 8-12, 2007
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In the lead-up to the
Brisbane Test against Sri Lanka, both former coach John Buchanan and captain Ricky Ponting again call him a future long-term captain. Clarke responds with a mature, unbeaten 145 that buries the visitors.
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December 5, 2007
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Clarke captains Australia for the first time, promoted ahead of Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey after Rick Ponting opts out of the Twenty20 against New Zealand
in Perth.
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January 2-6, 2008
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Flops with the bat, managing only 1 and 0 in the controversial
Sydney Test against India, but still wins the game for Australia by nipping out three wickets in five deliveries to finish off the game with only six minutes remaining.
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May 30-June3, 2008
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After spending two months out of cricket attending to his ailing father and helping his fiancée cope with her father's death, Clarke returns in his first Test as regular vice-captain to make a fluent 110 against West Indies
in Antigua.
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February 3, 2009
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After a year in which he recaptured the form of his first season in international cricket, Clarke
collects his second Allan Border medal, sharing it with his captain Ricky Ponting.
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February 6, 2009
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It's revealed that Clarke and Katich were involved in a dressing-room
altercation after the Sydney Test against South Africa in January. Both men are quick to play down the incident, and say that both have moved on and back on talking terms.
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July 8-August 23, 2009
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Makes
amends for his poor performance during his first Ashes tour in 2005, with two second-innings hundreds and a pair of 80-plus scores to top Australia's run-charts but the urn eludes him and Ricky Ponting's side in England again.
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September 29, 2009
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His long-term
back problem returns, forcing him to miss the ICC Champions Trophy, the inaugural Champions League and the one-day series against India.
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October 16, 2009
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Cricket Australia make the widely expected announcement that Clarke will be the
full-time Twenty20 leader of the national team after Ricky Ponting retires from the format.
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November 9-11, 2011
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Clarke's finest Test hundred, an outstanding 151 out of a team total of 284
in Cape Town, is only a precursor to a shocking second-innings collapse, as Australia crumble to 47 and lose the Test after taking a 188-run first-innings lead. For Clarke the captain, it's a bitter result early in his captaincy stint.
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January 5, 2012
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Clarke becomes only the third Australian captain, after Bob Simpson and Mark Taylor, to score a Test triple-century. His unbeaten 329 is also the highest Test score in Sydney, and it helps Australia
thrash India by an innings and 68 runs.
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(Mar 5, 2018)
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(Nov 17, 2017)
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(Sep 13, 2017)
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(Nov 3, 2016)
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(Nov 1, 2016)
Dec 28, 2016
Mark Nicholas, Michael Clarke and Shane Warne talk on television
© Cricket Australia/Getty Images
Nov 3, 2016
Mark Nicholas, Michael Clarke, Ian Chappell and Ian Healy sit together before the start of play
© Getty Images
Sep 24, 2016
Michael Clarke and Nepal cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane share a reason to smile
© Getty Images
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Allan Border Medal - 2005, 2009, 2012, 2013
Australian Test Player of the Year - 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2010
Wisden Leading Cricketer of the Year 2013
ICC Cricketer of the Year 2013
ICC Test Player of the Year 2013