Soliloquy

Australia slump to 60 all out against an ordinary bowling attack on an ordinary wicket on an ordinary overcast sky. What’s obvious is that their batting was less than ordinary – it was pathetic. Stuart Broad couldn’t keep the grin off his face and rightly so. For a man whose previous best figures were against an U15 school side, Christmas had come in August.

Michael Clarke and his batters had nowhere to hide. What made their dismissals even more appalling was the fact that the English attack missed Jimmy Anderson who had been their destroyer-in-chief at Edgbaston. If giving wickets to Broad seemed easy, maybe the skipper could explain what he meant by his ‘aggressive’ approach by slashing at a ball on his sixth stump.

Clarke, instead chose to give credit to Broad an the English fielding. He didnt explain why his batters stuck their bats out or why Peter Nevill’s defence had been short-flung. The signs were coming.

He termed his decision to drop master wicketkeeper Brad Haddin as the toughestin his career. In fact, that was a no brainer. Quite plainly, Nevill wasn’t Ashes material. And for a team at 35/6 I’d rather have Haddin at the wicket than a Shield cricket bully. Yes, Nevill had a glittering career ahead of him but Haddin could rule atleast till Bangladesh this October.

Michael Clarke has been Australian cricket’s perennial bad boy. At a time when his country ruled more than half the cricketing world, he was seen as a poster boy of beer and underwear. Not an image a current vicecaptain would like to have. He made it all up when he was given the captain’s jacket. Nobody batted more confidently at a  time Australia were struggling to stay afloat in world cricket.

You could see the signs coming. Clarke looked lost without trusted confidants Shane Watson and Haddin. He was poker-faced when dismissed cheaply and softly. This is not predicting that he’s lost interest. It’s just an indication.

Michael Clarke the captain has a long way to go. Michael Clarke the batsman has to pull up his socks if he needs to maintain the standards he’s set for himself. His time is not up. Clarke can still go a long way. And the ten thousand Test run landmark is just a stepping stone!