Oz Supremo

An aggressive and driven captain, he has emerged as one of cricket’s most dynamic and imaginative leaders.

A Batting phenomenon, disarming bowler and outstanding fielder, Pup has flourished as the top dog sporting the Baggy Green cap.

This four time Alan Border Medals winner was named Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2012.

Childhood

Michael John Clarke was born on April 2, 1981 in New South Wales.

He played cricket for his school and university team and honed his technique against the bowling machine at his dad’s indoor center.

Career

In 2003, Clarke’s ODI debut came against England. With Australia in a precarious position, Clarke strode out and composed an unbeaten 39 to guide the Aussies home in a low-scoring thriller.

He showed that he had the abilities as a finisher when he came at number six and stroked some unbeaten fifties to get Australia home.  He scored tons of runs in the VB series of 2004 against West Indies and Pakistan.

The selectors looked at his consistent performances in the ODIs, and rewarded him with a test call-up. He made his Test debut against India where he scored a century.

Clarke played a vital hand in Australia winning their first Test series in India after 35 years and he capped it off with an astonishing bowling haul of 6/9 in the final test. 

His rise

Clarke’s meteoric rise continued as he was part of Australia’s World Cup winning team in 2007. He had a superb tournament making four 50s.

In 2011, Clarke stood down as captain of the Australian Twenty20 cricket team to concentrate on his Test and ODI performance. Clarke was named as captain of Australia’s squad. He made a solid start as the captain with a brilliant series against India. As a batsman he dominated, smiting 626 runs in four Tests at an average of 125. As captain, he extracted match winning performances from an unheralded ensemble.

In 2012, in the second Test against India and after a string of Test centuries since becoming captain, Clarke led Australia to a 4–0 win and was named the player of the series. That year, he also became the only Test batsman to ever achieve four double centuries in a calendar year.

From the end of 2011 to the start of 2013, Clarke went on one of the most prolific run-scoring streaks in Test history. He scored eight Test tons, including three double-hundreds and a triple-hundred.

Controversy

Clarke’s relationship soured with the public in 2006 as he walked the red carpet amid A-list Company, sporting tattoos and gelled hair with bikini model Lara Bingle on his arm.

In 2010, Clarke left Australia’s touring party to New Zealand mid way to sort out his personal problems as a report linked the move to a nude photo scandal involving his model fiancee, Lara Bingle, a move which was criticized by the Australian cricketing fraternity.  A couple of days later, Clarke cancelled his wedding with the model and returned to New Zealand. 

After winning a thriller against the Proteas in 2009, Clarke and Simon Katich were embroiled in a physical altercation in the dressing room. Katich grabbed Clarke by the throat during an argument over the singing of the team song. Clarke had wanted the song sung early in celebrations so he could leave the rooms to be with family and model girlfriend Lara Bingle. 

Personal Life

Clarke was engaged to model fiancee, Lara Bingle but the couple broke their engagement. Clarke then married model and presenter Kyly Boldy in 2012.

He likes techno music and is fond of cars.