Clarke v Yuvraj

Profiles / Paul Moon / 04 October 2007 / Leave a Comment

Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo considers who is the better of these two superstars of the ODI game.

It is hard not to compare Yuvraj Singh, the latest darling of Indian Cricket with Michael Clarke, the blue eyed blonde sweetheart of Australian Cricket. Who is the best allrounder? It is without doubt - Michael Clarke!

Yuvraj Singh (25) is the complete ODI Cricketer. His strong, fearless batting style with a wide range of shots makes him a dangerous opponent as his six sixes off Stuart Broad testified. His record in limited overs cricket is very impressive with 7 centuries and 35 fifties averaging 36.23. In Test Cricket he has scored 2 centuries averaging 33.20. As a batsman he is still improving and I believe he will contribute more in the next few years and his stats will improve. At this moment he is not the finished article.

His slow left arm bowling is more suited to limited over cricket. My friends in India tell me that because of his 'dodgy back' his bowling is not his favourite part of his game and this might reflect how much he has been used to date. He has one Test wicket costing 90 runs.

His fielding is extraordinary. Marauding at point he is one of the top three fielders in World Cricket and has a very high run out rate. He has no fielding superiors!

This Punjabi, reputed to be one of the biggest earners in World Cricket has a personality of a film star (father is a big movie star) where he enjoys the adulation and can be seen going to the disco and clubs when not playing. He has often got into trouble because of his attitude with the Indian Cricket Authorities and has been dropped because of it on a number of occasions. Ironically his actions actually makes the Indian public like him more. He is odds on to follow his father all the way to Bollywood once his cricket career has ended.

Yuvraj has the potential to be captain material but I would resist in giving him the armband in the same way it is was a mistake to give Flintoff the job!

Michael Clarke is far more successful than his rival. He is also an entertainer but with wristy and flamboyant stroke play and an elegant stature at the crease. His record in limited over cricket is remarkable averaging 46.74 with 3 centuries and 25 fifties. He is the better timer of a cricket ball and can use his feet to spinners whilst Yuvraj has historically struggled with spinners. In Test Cricket, 'Pups - as he is known' has scored 4 centuries averaging 42.00

He is also one of the top three fielders in the world and his worth in run saving, catching and run outs cannot be underestimated.

Michael's bowling is also more suited to limited over cricket and although he boasts figures of 6 for 9 against India in a Test Match he (and Yuvraj) are considered batting allrounders.

Generally speaking Clarke contributes more in both forms of cricket than Yuvraj and whilst the statistics do not always tell the true story I think that in this case it does...

In the current Seven Match ODI Series India versus Australia I notice that the Aussies are trading at 1.3 (Betfair) whilst India trade at 9 (Betfair). A drawn series, maybe the value, is current 6 (Betfair). It is interesting to note that currently both Yuvraj and Clarke are both trading at 6.2 (Betfair) to be top batsman for their respective countries in the 3rd ODI Match starting tomorrow.