MICHAEL Clarke has a dilemma. He has taken over the captaincy during one of his worst form slumps. The last time he batted this badly in Test cricket – six years ago – he was dropped and returned a much better player in one of the best teams ever.
This time he must lead a struggling side from the front when the first Test begins in Galle on Wednesday.
To watch Clarke, 30, compile a commanding century on Saturday in the drawn three-day tour match against a Sri Lanka Board XI is to feel you’re watching a player in complete command of his game.
But despite consistently good one-day form, the statistics show Clarke’s Test results have taken a tumble.
When he flew home from the New Zealand tour in March last year to publicly break up with fiance Lara Bingle, Clarke flew back to make to make his highest Test score, 168
t rates as one of his most significant achievements in a 69-Test career.
He lifted his average to almost 52 but now it is hovering around 46.
During the past 10 Tests, he has passed 50 just three times in 19 innings with a top score of 80.
Much of this is due to Australia’s rob Peter to pay Paul approach of moving a struggling Mike Hussey down to No.5 to save his career, pushing Clarke to No.4, where he has been well below his best.
In 24 innings batting at No.4, Clarke has averaged 20, yet as the captain in an inconsistent team he should bat in the top four to lead by example. He averages 56 batting at five.
This makes the sacking of Australia’s best performed Test player of the past three years, Simon Katich, look all the more bizarre.
“I don’t really think too much about that,” Clarke said of his failure to make Test centuries in the past 17 months.
“I know I haven’t really performed as well as I’d like to. I had a poor summer against England (averaging just 21).
“I know I need to be leading from the front, put it that way, especially now that I’m captain. My form hasn’t been as good as I would like in Test cricket.
“I’ve always said Test cricket is the ultimate to me, the pinnacle, and I want to be at my best. I couldn’t ask for better preparation but I’ve got to do it when it counts.
“No disrespect to the game – it’s important to make runs every time I bat – but I’d prefer a hundred in the first Test.”