Michael Clarke

[Durhamfootman]

carrying on in 2013 where he left off in 2012. Won't help him in the summer, of course, but grab the runs while you can

[meninblue]

His batting average of 71 as captain is great

Matches 23 Runs 2544 Highest 329* Average 70.66 100* 9

[rich1uk]

still think he needs to bat at least one spot higher especially now he doesn't have hussey behind him

big scores are all about partnerships and coming in at 5 with the lineup he has behind him he is limiting the amount of genuine partnerships he can have

[meninblue]

Yes, he should bat at 4 given he has proven ability of knocking enough triples and doubles. By batting at 4 he will allow himself to score more runs due to atleast one more specialist after him for partnership. It would be nice to read what his own opinion/reasoning is about batting at 4/5.

[KipperJohn]

Brilliant player - and has exceded expectations since being made captain. Faced quite a lot of 'hostility' to his appointment as I recall.

I cant' recall him batting anywhere else other than 5 tbh - probably bceause he spent quite a long time in a strong batting line-up. He once had the same 'stigma' as Bell also used to have - 'never scored a hundred unless someone else already had ' etc etc.

Move up the order? Well if they are three wickets down for not many and his is one of them .......? Perhaps he sees himself as their 'get out of jail' card.

Tricky one.

[rich1uk]

i just sometimes think we get too wrapped up about players records batting in certain positions

given the vulnerability of the aus top order for the last year or so and that he seems to be coming to the wicket at 50-3 in almost every innings with the ball only 20 overs old anyway then it has to make more sense for him to come in one spot higher and try to give himself more opportunities to make partnerships with proper batsmen rather than finding himself batting with wade and the bowlers the first time a wicket goes down after he comes in

it would be different if he was coming in regularly at 150-3 with the ball fairly old and time to get himself in before the second new ball but i really dont see how it can be harder for him to get started whether he comes in at 40-2 or 50-3 but the difference it could make to the team to have the stability he could bring would be important imo

[Alviro Patterson]

Given Australia's batting order is fairly new it makes sense for Clarke to bat at 5 and protect the order. If Clarke batted at 3/4 and went out cheaply then Australia would really struggle to put a total on the board.

If there is one batsman batting too low for Australia it's Shane Watson who should be opening. He might struggle to score centuries but always makes a start and would take pressure off an inexperienced top 3 of 51 combined test appearances.

[rich1uk]

no more trouble than they are going to be in than if he bats at 5 and gets out early and they end up at 60odd for 4 instead

hes not protecting the order batting at 5 , almost every time he comes to the crease they are already in trouble and hes usually finding himself having to make a big score just to be competitive , and now he doesn't have hussey behind him hes not got anyone reliable to join him when the 4th wicket goes down

surely it makes more sense for him to be stabilising the order before they get in trouble and maybe take the pressure of the guys around him

[Alviro Patterson]

Clarke is essentially stabilising 6-8 where players who are capable enough with the bat, provide support and potentially put on a stubborn mid-lower order partnership.

Because Cowan, Hughes and Warner are under-performing it makes even more sense for Clarke to provide a safety net.

[rich1uk]

but all thats happening by him batting at 5 is by the time he comes to the wicket they are already in trouble

hes not actually acheiving the goal of protecting those guys you mention by batting at 5 as they are continually failing

they aint gonna win anything with him being a safety net if the guys keep falling into it

he needs to be batting in a position he can influence games not just try to save the innings

and i repeat that without hussey behind him now hes just not going to have enough opportunities to make the sort of partnerships that win games by coming in where he is

[greyblazer]

In India Clarke should bat at 4 and Henriques at 5.

[Alviro Patterson]

Hussey retiring is all the more reason Clarke bats at 5, playing openers Hughes/Cowan/Warner at 5 is like putting square pegs in round holes.

Games can't be won if 3 of the top 6 fail to score so moving Clarke up the order won't make any difference.

[rich1uk]

Hussey retiring is all the more reason Clarke bats at 5, playing openers Hughes/Cowan/Warner at 5 is like putting square pegs in round holes.

Games can't be won if 3 of the top 6 fail to score so moving Clarke up the order won't make any difference.

it will make a difference

he will have one more partnership to bat with a recognised batsman before hes left with the tail

pick the team based on the assumption that people will do the jobs they are picked to do , dont compromise the team by assuming people are going to fail so you need your best batsman in a position where every time he comes to the wicket he is picking up the pieces with very little left behind him

[meninblue]

He is easily one of the best players of spin and it will be no surprise if he is Australia's top scorer in this series. He smashed our one spinner in OZ and now he is topscoring even against three spinners. Pace or spin he is terrific and no wonder every Indian player, commentator and Indian fans wants him to be dismissed cheaply in this series. The way he used his feet on front and back foot was awesome in both test matches. His stamina is immense. He is someone who can bat for one and half or two days and still be electric on field. I remember that he was very quick against India even after he had crossed 250. He is a batting masterclass against both pace and spin and the best long innings batter at the moment. To be batting at 5 his chance of scoring triples gets less and now as pointed out her, Hussey's retirement will mean lesser support for him to knock triples. That is one more reason.

[andy]

carrying the aussie side nowadays...such a shame that a class player is batting and captaining a poor side!