Clarke gets timing wrong with book

Ajit Vijaykumar 07:34 23/11/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Taking aim: Michael Clarke.

    Michael Clarke doesn’t believe in wasting time. He announced his international retirement almost immediately after Australia lost the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. Results were not going his way and his batting had taken a turn for the worse. So it made sense for him to call it a day with immediate effect.

    Freshly retired cricketers usually time some time off cricket to reflect on their achievements and plan their future course of action. 

    Clarke is only 34 and surely has many lucrative career avenues in front of him; from administration to media and even coaching. But it seems that there was one pressing matter that he simply needed to deal with before he could move on in life.

    Clarke last week came out with his new book Ashes Diary 2015 to settle scores with former teammates and one particular coach.

    Out came the knives as Andrew Symonds was admonished for questioning Clarke’s leadership skills when he himself turned up for an ODI drunk and was subsequently dropped. Matthew Hayden was targeted as well with Clarke insisting he never meant it when he told his then captain Ricky Ponting that he would rather return his baggy green than field at short leg.

    But the biggest attack was reserved for John Buchanan. The former coach, at the time of Clarke’s retirement in August, had accused him of undermining the value of the baggy green that had been revered when Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Ponting were playing.

    Clarke went straight for the jugular, accusing Buchanan of never understanding the importance of the Aussie cap as he had never worn it himself and even saying that the former coach was “still living off the fact that he coached a team that anyone, even my dog Jerry, could have coached to world domination”.

    Whether or not Clarke is speaking the truth, the timing of the revelations, so soon after his retirement, doesn’t show him in good light. It looks like he was just waiting to become a retired cricketer so that he could vent all his anger at those who had taken pot shots at him.

    Clarke does nothing to improve his image as that of a polarising figure and his explanations do little in raising his profile. If established Australian cricketing names like Symonds, Hayden and Buchanan are singing the same tune, with a stalwart like Hayden admitting that Clarke rubbed him up the wrong way on various occasions, there must be some truth to it.

    Rift: Clarke and Symonds.

    Clarke was the first Australian captain to have formal powers as a selector and he had to give that up after disquiet in the team over ‘Homework gate’ when three players – Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja – were suspended after failing to turn in a three-point report on how to improve the team.

    Ponting and Waugh had similar, though informal, powers but not one individual has ever accused them of using it unwisely.

    His alleged bust-up with Simon Katich and the latter’s axing from the side when Clarke became captain is also significant as Katich accused Clarke of playing a part in ending his career. His once close friend Symonds has severed all ties with him. All of this doesn’t paint the picture of a team leader who took everyone along with him.

    What his book has done is reinforce the perception that those who genuinely admire Clarke’s style of functioning and leadership are outnumbered by those who don’t. What an unfortunate way to sign off in a year where Clarke won the World Cup, lost the Ashes and then retired.

    A right way to catch?

    Fielders fall into two categories. No we are not talking about the fast and slow ones. It’s the way they catch the ball. Some attempt to grasp the ball with their fingers pointing skywards and others with the digits pointing to the ground.

    Australians widely use the former method of catching while the Indians are strong supporters of the latter technique. Both have their merits and cricketers pick either of the two based on their preference and comfort.

    However, there is no doubt that the ‘fingers pointing skywards’ method has two disadvantages, as demonstrated during Alex Hales’ dropped catch in the fourth ODI against Pakistan. Hales was fielding at mid-wicket when Mohammad Hafeez hit one straight into his direction. Hales had his palms in front of his face and the ball just burst through, bouncing into the boundary.

    Firstly, Hales was lucky the ball didn’t smash into his face. Secondly, if he had taken the ‘fingers pointing down’ approach, there could have been a chance of recovery. In such a scenario, even if the ball spills it does so, generally, in front of the body with the hands not blocking the view as it does when the fingers are pointing up.

    Generally, catches in second attempts occur when done so with fingers pointing downwards. When the digits are facing upwards, it’s almost always a straight drop. 

    Recommended