Michael Clarke      

As a young man Michael Clarke could do anything with the bat, but he has matured into one of the game's most professional, reliable and focussed players. Clarke learned a year into his Test career that he had to shed the flourishes that made him a golden child in order to shine consistently at elite level. Breathtaking centuries on debut away and at home stamped him as a shot-maker to savour, but he is now a calculated player who is his country's most effective run-maker in the five-day game.

While he could clear boundaries and loft regular fours as a youngster, Clarke's main modern method is to find gaps by caressing the ball along the ground, although he will pull off the front foot when settled. In Tests he has the potential to develop into a master by the end of his career, having taken over the team's No.1 rating from Ricky Ponting in 2009, even though he has batted at five in most appearances. At one-day level he is extremely accomplished and a highly valued member, but in Twenty20 a lack of power stands out along with astute captaincy.

Since Shane Warne, Clarke has been Australia's A-list cricketer, a boy from Sydney's working-class west who became a celebrity thanks to his ready smile, large endorsements and a high-profile engagement to a model. After the relationship broke down early in 2010, Clarke displayed his impressive ability to compartmentalise his life by scoring a hundred at his first chance in New Zealand. Proving he could deal with such a taxing situation and retain a clear head in the middle is one reason why he has been lined up to replace Ponting as leader whenever he retires.

In the field Clarke's throw is as fast and accurate as anything in the game, and he can winkle out batsmen with his disarming left-arm spin. Mostly he is known for his immaculate driving and slicing of the ball through impossible angles. The next step towards fulfilment is a full-time move to No.3, another promotion which depends on Ponting's longevity.
Peter English

• January 19, 2003
  An early, promising start
  • Makes his ODI debut as a 21-year-old in the 2002-03 VB Series, keeps his head when four wickets go down for eight runs to steer Australia to victory over England in Adelaide.
    
• May 21, 2003
  International cricket remains easy
  • Picks up the Man-of-the-Match award in only his second one-dayer for an assured, unbeaten 75 and three vital catches against West Indies in St Lucia, to help extend Australian winning streak to 20 ODIs.
    
• November 18, 2003
  Remarkable rise continues
  • Adds to his burgeoning reputation with a solid one-day tri-series in India, culminating in a Man-of-the-Match performance in the final in Kolkata. He thrashes a 28-ball 44 before his two middle-order strikes suck the momentum out of the Indian chase.
    
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• October 6-10, 2004
  A star is born
  • Already deemed a future captain and owner of the biggest sports-sponsorship deal in Australian cricket, he make a magical entry to Test cricket. In the first Test of the high-pressure series against India, he makes a dazzling 151 to swing the match Australia's way.
    
• November 3-5, 2004
  Allrounder Clarke?
  • Rounds off his first Test series with mind-boggling figures of 6 for 9 with his left-arm spin on a rank turner in Mumbai. It's still not enough to hand Australia victory in a game that lasted little more than 200 overs.
    
• November 18-21, 2004
  Boy with the Midas touch
  • Australian audiences are treated to another stunning century by their boy wonder in his first home Test. Against New Zealand in Brisbane, he strokes a sublime 141 to revive Australia from 128 for 4.
    
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• January 14 - February 6, 2005
  The highest Australian accolade
  • No batting challenge is too hard for Clarke at this stage - he is a success as a makeshift opener in the 2004-05 VB series, ending up as the highest run-getter. Along the way, he collects the 2005 Allan Border medal.
    
• July 21-24, 2005
  An Ashes debut to remember
  • After a rough spell in the Tests in New Zealand earlier in the year, returns to form with a pivotal second-innings 91 in his first Ashes match, at Lord's. It's the highest score of the Test, and sets Australia up for a 1-0 lead in the memorable series.
    
• November 21, 2005
  End of the joyride for the golden boy
  • Just ten months after everything seemed to be going his way, he is axed from the squad for the third Test against West Indies. It follows a poor Ashes campaign, and increasing questions over the solidity of his technique.
    
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• April 8, 2006
  Bangladesh recall
  • He slams 395 runs in the two Pura Cup matches following his sacking from the national side, but the selectors ignore him for the home-and-away Test series against South Africa, before recalling him for the Bangladesh tour.
    
• November 23 - December 18, 2006
  Cementing Test spot again
  • After a shaky series against Bangladesh, Clarke makes himself indispensable again with a 56 and a pair of centuries in the first three Tests of the Ashes as Australia go on to whitewash England for the first time in 86 years.
    
• March 13-April 28, 2007
  A cruise in the Caribbean
  • Is a vital part of a dominant Australia in the West Indies, where they collect their third consecutive World Cup victory after an unbeaten run in the tournament. Clarke piles on 436 runs at 87.20, the best average among the top 10 run-getters.
    
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• November 8-12, 2007
  Crushing Sri Lanka
  • In the lead-up to the Brisbane Test against Sri Lanka, both former coach John Buchanan and captain Ricky Ponting again call him a future long-term captain. Clarke responds with a mature, unbeaten 145 that buries the visitors.
    
• December 5, 2007
  A glimpse of the future
  • Clarke captains Australia for the first time, promoted ahead of Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey after Rick Ponting opts out of the Twenty20 against New Zealand in Perth.
    
• January 2-6, 2008
  The golden arm returns
  • Flops with the bat, managing only 1 and 0 in the controversial Sydney Test against India, but still wins the game for Australia by nipping out three wickets in five deliveries to finish off the game with only six minutes remaining.
    
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• May 30-June3, 2008
  An emotional return
  • After spending two months out of cricket attending to his ailing father and helping his fiancée cope with her father's death, Clarke returns in his first Test as regular vice-captain to make a fluent 110 against West Indies in Antigua.
    
• August 30-September 6, 2008
  A test for Captain Clarke
  • Clarke had already led Australia in the odd Twenty20 and one-dayer, but the short visit by the Bangladeshis is his first full series at the helm. Australia roundly thrash the visitors in each of the three ODIs, but Clarke's biggest challenge comes at the start of the series when dealing with an indisciplined Andrew Symonds.
    
• October 29-November 2, 2008
  Battling for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
  • India's batting might had loosened Australia's grip on the Border-Gavaskar trophy, but Clarke's battling century in the third Test in Delhi gave Australia a chance of heading into the final Test with still an opportunity to draw the series and take the trophy.
    
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• November 20-December 1, 2008
  Cashing in against New Zealand
  • More responsible batting from Clarke, first a 98 in the opening Test in Brisbane in an innings where no else scores more than 35, followed by a 110 that helps Australia to a massive first-innings lead in the second Test in Adelaide.
    
• December 17, 2008-January 7, 2009
  Purple patch continues
  • Australia lose their first home series in 16 years to South Africa, but not because of a lack of runs from Clarke, who finishes with a series-high 383 runs at 76.60, including a century and a pair of fifties.
    
• February 3, 2009
  Another Allan Border medal
  • After a year in which he recaptured the form of his first season in international cricket, Clarke collects his second Allan Border medal, sharing it with his captain Ricky Ponting.
    
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• February 6, 2009
  Scuffle with Katich
  • It's revealed that Clarke and Katich were involved in a dressing-room altercation after the Sydney Test against South Africa in January. Both men are quick to play down the incident, and say that both have moved on and back on talking terms.
    
• July 8-August 23, 2009
  Runs but no Ashes
  • Makes amends for his poor performance during his first Ashes tour in 2005, with two second-innings hundreds and a pair of 80-plus scores to top Australia's run-charts but the urn eludes him and Ricky Ponting's side in England again.
    
• September 29, 2009
  Back injury flares up again
  • His long-term back problem returns, forcing him to miss the ICC Champions Trophy, the inaugural Champions League and the one-day series against India.
    
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• October 16, 2009
  Another step to the top
  • Cricket Australia make the widely expected announcement that Clarke will be the full-time Twenty20 leader of the national team after Ricky Ponting retires from the format.
    
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