Michael Clarke - Saviour or dead weight?

As some, and most likely, most of you would recall, about six weeks ago Michael Clarke made the rather powerful statement that there was a distinct possibility he would never play cricket again. Fortunately, that has proven to be premature speculation and Captain Courageous took to the field earlier this week for his Grade cricket side, Western Suburbs. He compiled a slightly demure half-century, and spent a rather precious three hours at the crease out in the middle. While this may not have the most ideal of preparations, it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction for a man who could very well be Australia’s Ace in the pack. Whether he really is required though is a slightly more complicated matter. Australia has shown reasonable proficiency at home sans Clarke, with a series win against South Africa and victory in the recently concluded tri-series against England and India. More ominous, for the opposition anyway, they haven’t really looked all too stretched in compiling this impressive run of one home defeat in ten home matches this summer. Steven Smith has emerged as the Heir Apparent to the crown Clarke has steadfastly worn for half a decade as Australia’s best limited over batsman, a fact underlined by his nod as the Alan Border medal winner for One Day International Player of the year a week ago. Smith is but the headline act in a star-studded Australian line up which includes David Warner, Aaron Finch, George Bailey, Shane Watson and the Big Show himself, Glenn Maxwell. The fact that Watson and Maxwell can both bowl a spell or two also does wonders for the balance of the team, as it means they can play an extra batsman, or a wildcard, in the form of James Faulkner, who averages a scarcely believable 48 while batting at #8. The lad can bowl a full quota of overs as well, which makes them even more complete. Indeed, they may be one of the most overpowering cricket teams in the history of the game. Add in a pool of hungry pace bowlers and you have a deadly, World cup-winning cocktail. It would be quite understandable if the selectors were hesitant to mess with the balance of things and select the incumbent captain, Michael Clarke. It is certainly something worth considering. The thing is, though, Clarke is a good, maybe even great Test cricketer, but he is an absolutely sensational One Day cricketer. Maybe the best Australia has ever had. His average of 44.86 is the third highest of any cricketer to have played over 200 internationals, and the third highest by an Australian (behind Mike Hussey, and uh… Faulkner). The decision to select him for the World Cup was something of a no brainer. But now greater questions lay ahead: Where does he bat? Who misses out? Is it worth messing with a rather successful team? Most importantly, what happens if he gets injured again? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but there are a group of selectors who are being paid a king’s ransom to give it a go.