You’d think the Australian captain who helped orchestrate an Ashes whitewash, lifted the World Cup, became the only Aussie to score Test centuries on his home and away debuts and won the Allan Border Medal four times would be universally loved, but sadly for Michael Clarke that isn’t the case.
As far as achievements go, Clarke basically has them all, but his brash nature on and away from the cricket pitch has sadly made him a cricketing outcast, at least in the eyes of some.
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Clarke played 248 ODIs, scoring 7981 runs including eight centuries winning World Cups in 2007 and 2015 as captain.
And while statistically Clarke, who was Australia’s Test captain between 2011-2015, is one of the greats of the modern era, he is not held in as high of a regard as others with similar accomplishments.
And in a sad development, veteran journalists Buzz Rothfield and Andrew Webster revealed on the Off The Record podcast that his former teammates now want little to do with him.
Clarke has made many headlines over the years but often for all the wrong reasons, from his messy relationship with Lara Bingle to his Noosa brawl with Karl Stefanovic.
But it was his bust-up with Simon Katich in 2009 that Rothfield and Webster believe was the turning point in him becoming something of an Australian cricketing outcast.
On that infamous day, Australia managed to avoid a whitewash at the hands of South Africa, winning in what was Matthew Hayden’s final match for Australia.
But Hayden’s farewell Test was overshadowed by an ugly confrontation between Katich and Clarke – who made a brilliant 135 in the first innings.
In the dressing room after the match, Clarke lashed out in frustration at the delay in performing ‘Under the Southern Cross I Stand’ – a song historically belted out by victorious Australian cricket teams.
The consensus was Clarke had other plans away from the team that he wanted to get to, which many believed to be him rushing to see Bingle, something Clarke has since denied.
But an angry Katich didn’t take to his agitation well, grabbing Clarke by the throat as the confrontation escalated.
Following the altercation, Katich said his reaction wasn’t just about the song, revealing Clarke had a personal swipe at him, which led to his reaction. He never elaborated on exactly what was said.
While in Clake’s autobiography, ‘Michael Clarke: My Story’, ‘Pup’ admits he got a couple of things wrong that evening and said the language he used towards Hussey and Katich he regrets.
“There is a string of actions I took that night that I’m sorry for,” he said in his autobiography.
And despite playing for years together for NSW and Australia, Katich and Clarke never managed to fully mend their relationship.
It also didn’t help that Katich’s international career was abruptly cut short at the same time Clarke assumed the full-time captaincy.
“You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that it’s not just the selectors that had a part in sending me on my way,” Katich said in the aftermath of his axing.
“I mean, to be brutally honest, obviously what happened in the dressing room a few years ago didn’t help my cause.”
Michael Clarke’s relationship with former teammates non-existent
But Katich is not the only former teammate of Clarke to distance themselves from him, with Webster and Rothfield stating Clarke has largely been shunned by the Australian cricket community following his retirement.
They revealed not only does Clarke not attend the SCG Test like almost all former NSW and Australian cricket greats, but not a single one of his teammates, Test or domestic, turned up to his 40th birthday celebration, showing just how distanced from his former teammates he’s become.
Webster revealed just how much of an outcast Clarke had become since his retirement, stating that the moment with Katich was a bit of a turning point.
“It became apparent from there (the Katich incident) how distant Michael Clarke was from the rest of that cricket side,” Webster told the Off The Record podcast.
“I’ve heard that on his 40th birthday, there were no cricketers at it. Which is fine but it just showed Clarkey is a different cat.
“You also see all those great old champions at the Test cricket who are either in the Fox box, or the ABC, but I have never seen him at the Sydney Test, and he doesn’t seem to be part of any reunions.”
When Clarke retired he had already distanced himself from his teammates and the Cricket Australia hierarchy, and sadly the general feeling was they couldn’t wait for him to retire.
That’s largely because in his final months as captain, Clarke was angry and simply fed up with everything.
Not just was he fuming at some of the questionable selection decisions made, such as Joe Burns being snubbed for the Boxing Day Test, but he was angry at his body for letting him down, with the back problems he had to navigate since adolescence finally derailing what was one of the most remarkable cricket careers.
But when all was said and done the reality is his captaincy tenure covered some of Australia’s most difficult years, leading a fragile team struggling to navigate replacing the greats that had retired in the prior years.
How Michael Clarke has worked to rebuild his reputation
Sadly when he finally called time on his career in 2015, his reputation was badly damaged.
However, since then he has worked to rebuild it and reshape the public’s perception him.
And largely he has done that.
Sure there was the Noosa saga when he and popular TV host Stefanovic had a sad struggle in a public park, and yes he had a go at Rothfield on Big Sports Breakfast where he cockily rubbed his sporting achievements in the respected journalists face.
But as a whole over the years, he has mellowed and became a respected voice on Big Sports Breakfast before finally deciding to pursue a different passion at the start of 2025 after five years on the show, launching the Beyond23 podcast.
“I just wanted to come on and use this opportunity to thank the listeners for accepting me on breakfast radio,” Clark said in his final Big Sports Breakfast appearance in January.
“I hope a lot of people just got to know me a fraction more.
“When I was playing cricket for Australia, it’s dictated what media you do and you get pushed and shoved in certain directions. (Radio) has given me a chance to show a bit more of myself, whether that’s a good or bad thing.
“One thing I do know about being on air five days a week – you can’t hide who you are.”
That statement echoes what Clarke truly is and feels.
Behind his fiery nature and intense passion is a man who wants to be accepted for who he is and be given his proper plaudits for what was one of the greatest cricket careers in modern history.
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