Captain Michael Clarke takes a panning after Australia’s Ashes capitulation
Another insipid display by a once-great cricketer as his side slumped to an embarrassing defeat to go 2-1 down in the Ashes series had Australian pundits questioning whether captain Michael Clarke was in terminal decline on Saturday.
It remains highly unlikely that Clarke’s reign as Australia captain will end with him dropped for next week’s fourth Ashes test against England but it would have been remarkable just a few months ago for someone to even suggest the possibility.
Still, Clarke himself admitted that his 94 runs from six innings at an average of 18.80 in the Ashes series so far meant Australia had effectively been playing with 10 men.
A hesitancy has crept into his batting in the last year. He is rivalling Jesse James in trigger movements
Dropping Ian Bell at second slip on 20 on Friday and allowing the Englishman to go on to make a match-winning unbeaten 65 only added to the impression of a player seriously out of sorts.
“A hesitancy has crept into his batting in the last year. He is rivalling Jesse James in trigger movements,” Gideon Haigh wrote in The Australian.
“His test average here slipped below 50 for the first time in more than three years. No top-four batsman who has played more than a handful of tests has a poorer record over the last 12 months.”
With a deteriorating back condition that could flare up at any moment and now well into his 12th year as a test cricketer, some pundits suspect the 34-year-old may not be able to revive his form.
