The Aussie selectors’ decision to continue with Michael Clarke hardly came as a surprise, despite all the debate and speculation surrounding the same. After all, Clarke is no Mark Taylor to retain his place by the virtue of his captaincy alone, and many of the Clarke-critics had thought that this was the best opportunity to groom a new guy in the role. Unfortunately for them, it did not happen.
Consistency and continuity:
Like has always been the case, the Australian selectors have always been an epitome of continuity. There have been many examples in the past as well, starting from the times of Mark Taylor, and even after Ricky Ponting became the first ever Australian captains in more than half a century to lose two Ashes. The captain did not get the sack, and that was probably because the selectors had faith in the guy.
In fact, this is a trait that runs in the Aussies. Why the players, even the selectors were spared after some shocking selections throughout the previous edition of the Ashes. It was almost a given that the selectors would be given a boot after the Ashes fiasco, but they were persisted with and the side was soon on their winning ways again.
The same logic seems to have been applied to the Clarke, the captain of the T20 game.
Future captaincy prospect?
The other reason why I can think of the continuation of Clarke as a captain is because one gets the sense that he will also take on the responsibility of the role from Ricky Ponting in the other formats of the game once Ponting is done with the game.
Now, personally I think that if Clarke were to be chucked out of the T20I format without being afforded the rightful opportunities, this could end up inflicting some confidence issues on him when he takes on the bigger role of leading the side in Tests and ODIs. And given the way things are, there do not seem too many others in the Australian camp that could take up the role of the captaincy in the other two formats of the game.
But what about back problems?
That is the one point that can be rationally brought into the conversation. Clarke’s career hasn’t been injury free and his back has given him enough trouble to last a lifetime. He has almost quit bowling as regularly as he did earlier, and the question that seems to be worrying some of the experts is that the excessive load of T20 cricket, both, as the captain and a batsman, could make life miserable for the talented batsman. And if Clarke does decide to play in the IPL, things could become even more tough for someone with the back issues.
On a notice?
All said and done, the two T20Is against Pakistan, to be played in England, will be a litmus test for Clarke. Another couple of failures could make him susceptible to a lot of blame again and that could well make it difficult to sustain him as the captain of the side.
Why was he not given the captaincy?
Ever since they bowed out of the first round of the ICC World T20 tournament in England, the Aussies haven’t been playing too much T20. That is, if you discount the two abandoned T20Is against England at Manchester later, in the same year.
Now, after that long hiatus, Australia will take on Pakistan in a one-off T20I and the difference between the line-ups from the World T20 of 2009 and this game, is as much as chalk and cheese. And the biggest of them all is the fact that Ricky Ponting has decided to call it a day from this cheese-burger format of the game, and allow the reigns to fall in the lap of Michael Clarke.
The change was almost assured after the Aussies bowed out of the World T20 early, for the second time in running. Clearly, the side wasn’t respecting the format as much as they should have and the results were there for everyone to see. And with Ponting having a rather rough time of it with the bat and as a captain, one could be assured that something had to give. And in a deed which reeked of a trade-off that Ponting had with the selectors to prolong his career in the other two formats, he decided to hang his T20 Kookabura bat.
However, I am still surprised by Ponting’s successor in this format. While there is no doubting the talent of Michael Clarke in the sport, there are other issues that Cricket Australia needed to ponder over, and cater to.
For one, there is an issue of Clarke’s recurring back illnesses which has kept him out of a few games in the previous years. Of course, Cricket Australia has a reasonable rotation plan in place, but when one is the leader of the side, the breaks are quite few and far between. Especially, given that Clarke has been tipped to succeed Ponting in both the other, and the more important, formats. This would mean that in around one year or so, when Ponting walks his way into the sunset, Clarke would take on the mantle of leading the side in even the Tests and the fifty over format.
So, how will Clarke be able to manage the three sides and a persistent back trouble then?
Then again, there is as much a case for White as there is against Clarke from taking over. There is every evidence that White is a natural leader, which can be gauged from the fact that he has led almost every side that he has been a part of. Right from the Under-19 days, to getting the role for his first class Victorian side, he has been in the thick of things. And it is not only the fact that he is the captain, he has one of the most amazing T20 records in Australia’s domestic T20 tournament – the KFC Big Bash T20.
Ever since the inception of the T20 tournament, there have been five editions of the same played, and the Victorian Bushrangers have been a part of the finals in all of them. What’s more fabulous is that the side has triumphed in four out of those five finals; White being the captain for all five!
Probably, and so reminiscent of the manner the Australians have been testing their bench strength, one could see White and Clarke shuffle around the captaincy as well. Probably, the selectors are only getting Clarke ready for the main job later. Probably, Clarke does have his sights on an IPL slot sometime down the line...as a captain!
