Michael Clarke has always been known as a great batsman, but on Wednesday he added a new level to his acclaim when he came out fighting his physical as well as mental demons against India in Adelaide.
It had been a tough fortnight for the New South Wales right-hander after his ‘Lil Brother’, Phillip Hughes, passed away following a fatal injury inflicted from a rising delivery from Sean Abbott in Sydney. Fighting hard with his body and brain, Clarke not only came out to bat in a poor frame of mind but had to abandon his innings before the play ended on Day One.
Australia physio Alex Kountouris said the skipper was struggling with “quite a significant back injury” but that he had been determined to “give it a go.”
“He hasn’t had anything like this for 18 months, the last time was at the Champions Trophy in England,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.
On Wednesday , there were very few who were expecting him to return, but against all odds he not only came out to the centre to take on the Indian pace attack, but also indicated the fact that he is trying his very best to look beyond the tragic death of Phillip Hughes. Clarke had already hit his half-century on Tuesday but re-injured himself while trying to avoid a short ball from Ishant Sharma later on. However on Wednesday, he looked flawless, racing 85 from his overnight score of 60 with ease.
During his innings of 128 runs Clarke looked in discomfort, especially on Day Two: his feet weren’t moving; his backlift far from usual, but he toyed with the Indian attack, picking and flicking the pacers at will. He pulled Ishant Sharma, drove Mohammad Shami and charged down the wicket to rookie leg-spinner Karn Sharma. But at no point did it seem like he had lost his composure, which seemed inevitable in a situation like this.
The match was stopped at least thrice in the opening session courtesy of some drizzle. Amidst all the stopping and starting, sometimes teams lose their momentum, like India did this morning, but Clarke was something different. Clarke finally got dismissed as he flicked one off Karn Sharma straight to the square leg but by then he had done his job. Clarke displayed his immense talent to the world a long time ago, but on Wednesday he played an innings which manifested the mental strength and the grit the 32-year old posses.
There shouldn’t be an iota of surprise when he dedicates his 28th Test century to the heavens.
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