Michael Clarke retires, but leaves behind a legacy.

By
Talha Ahmad
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Best Quotes on Michael Clarke1. Under Clarke, Australia won their 5th ICC ODI World Cup earlier this year at home. He played a significant role in the final against the Kiwis scoring 72. Clarke has been a part of 2 ODI World Cups (2007 and 2015) and 2 Champions Trophy (2006 and 2009) winning sides.

2. Clarke made his debut Test score of 151 against India in Bangalore, 2004–05; he then made 141 against New Zealand in November 2004 on his debut on home-soil at the Gabba making him the only Australian to score a century on both home and away debuts.

 

3. His best Test bowling figures of 6 for 9 came against India, Mumbai, 2004–05 thus ensuring a memorable series win for the Aussies.

4. Clarke led Australia in 74 ODIs, of which Australia won 50. He finished his ODI career with 7981 runs from 245 matches with 8 centuries and 58 half-centuries. He also made more than 8000 runs with an average close to 50 in Tests.

5. A brilliant slip fielder, Clarke took 125 catches in Tests and 106 in ODIs. He is one of the few players who are equally good at throwing with either hand.

6. Clarke captained Australia in the under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2000. Australia managed to reach only the semi finals of the tournament though.

7. In January 2011, Clarke stepped down as captain of the Australian T20I team to concentrate on his Test and ODI game. Which was quite a good decision as after this Clarke went on to make Australia one of the giants of cricket again, a status which they had lost for a short while.

8. He won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, thereby winning the ICC Cricketer of the Year award 2013. He also won the Allan Border medal for the year 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2013.
9. He was named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2010 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. He was named Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for the year 2012 in 2013 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

 

10. His tally of 1595 Test runs in 2012 is the most for an Australian in a calendar year. He went past Ricky Ponting’s record of 1544 runs.
11. On 22 November 2012, Clarke scored a double century at the Adelaide Oval, making him the only Test batsman to ever achieve four double centuries in a calendar year.

 

 

12. Clarke’s highest Test batting score of 329* against India, in 2012 at Sydney is the highest Test score at the SCG, and the 4th best Test score of all time by an Australian. Only Mathew Hayden , Mark Taylor and the legendary Don Bradman have scored more than Clarke in a single innings.

13. In the memorable Test series win against the Proteas in 2014, the skipper finished unbeaten on 161 at Newlands after bravely surviving a brutal spell from Morne Morkel. Scans later revealed he had played most of the innings with a fractured shoulder. It is still rated one of his most prolific batting performances in terms of courage and bravery.

14. He was very close to former Australian Cricketer Phil Hughes who died in November 2014 when he was hit by a bouncer on the neck. Clarke couldn’t hold his tears at Hughes funeral and gave a very emotional speech. This was just before the test series against India in 2014-15 and the 2015 world cup.

15. In 2010, Clarke left Australia’s touring party to New Zealand midway to sort out his personal problems as a report linked the move to a scandal involving his model fiancee, Lara Bingle. After a couple of days, Clarke cancelled his wedding with the model and returned to New Zealand. He married TV presenter Kylie Boldi on 15 May 2012.

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