Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke was born in Liverpool, New South Wales, on the 2nd April 1981. He made his debut for his state at the age of 18 and received his first One Day International (ODI) call up against England in January 2003. He made his debut in October 2004 against India, and scored 151 runs.

Following a successful tour of India, Australia's first win on Indian soil in 30 years, he made his home debut against New Zealand, again hitting another 100, making him one of the rare few players to score 100 on both their home and away debuts. Clarke's form saw him included in the 2005 Ashes series in England, but he did not hit a single century in the tournament and was ultimately dropped from the team by the end of the year.

He managed to reclaim his place for the 2006 tours of South Africa and Bangladesh, and this saw him included in the 2006/2007 Ashes squad. Clarke laid to rest the demons from the previous Ashes tour as he hit two consecutive centuries, helping Australia to a 5-0 whitewash and cementing his place in the Australian test line-up.

In 2007 he helped his country win the Cricket World Cup and in 2008, following the retirement of Adam Gilchrist, was named as vice-captain of the Australian side. This coincided with the decline of the Australian cricket team as many of the 2006/2007 side had gone into retirement. His Australian side lost the Ashes back to England in 2009 and lost again in the 2010/2011 series, England's first win down under in 24 years. After the 2011 World Cup, captain Ricky Ponting stood down.

In Australia's home series with India, Clarke was in inspired form, hitting an unbeaten 329 in one innings as he led his side to a 4-0 win. He was also named player of the series. He then beat the West Indies and Sri Lanka but lost against India and South Africa.

The Australian side came into 2013 in terrible shape. Coach Micky Arthur was fired and Clarke tendered his resignation but ultimately continued to lead his side. The 2013 Ashes were tough for the Australian side, who were still in transition. Despite losing 3-0 Clarke impressed with 381 total runs.

Clarke has played 100 matches for Australia, scoring 7,940 runs including 26 centuries, which gives him an impressive 52.58 average. He has also taken 30 wickets for his country at an average of 37.63.

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