Former Australian captain and one of the greatest batsmen, Michael Clarke, was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Wednesday 23 January at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
The 43-year-old becomes the 64th cricketer to receive this prestigious honour. Michael Clarke represented Australia in 115 Tests, 245 ODIs and 34 T20Is, amassing more than 17,000 runs during his remarkable 12-year international career.
Michael Clarke honored with induction into Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at SCG
As captain, Clarke led the Australian national cricket team to memorable victories, including a 5-0 win in the 2013-14 Ashes. and a 2015 ODI World Cup triumph at home before calling it quits.
After being inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, Michael Clarke expressed his gratitude and shared how honored he felt to join the list of legendary players he looked up to as a child. Clarke also said that he may have retired from the game, but it is still a part of his life.
Cricbuzz quoted Michael Clarke as saying: “I am honored to be able to sit alongside so many wonderful players, idols and role models who grew up and looked up to them. Retirement does a lot of things to you. Through the stages of watching cricket now, you miss parts. When you play at the highest level, people talk about your international career, but for me it started at the age of six. I retired at 34, so that was my life. It’s still a part of my life.”
Michael Clarke compares cricket to life in a beautiful way
The former Australian captain also compared cricket to life, saying it is full of ups and downs. Clarke explained: “Cricket — it’s probably so similar to life in general. You go out and make 100 and then you pick up the bat and then you go out on the field, the field in the slips, and you drop the catch on the second ball of the game.”
Meanwhile, Hall of Fame chairman Peter King said: “Michael’s remarkable first-class playing career began at the age of just 17 at the SCG – the site of many of his highlights, including a Test triple century against India in 2012. Michael’s career will forever be fondly remembered is remembered by the Australian public and his position has been held alongside those in the upper echelon of our game.”
Notably, Michael Clarke made his Test debut against India in 2004 and played 115 Tests for the Australian cricket team, his last appearance in the white jersey coming against England at The Oval in 2015. He has 8643 Tests with a highest score of 329* to his name.
The peak of Michael Clarke’s career
The former Australian captain scored 27 fifties and 28 hundreds in his Test career, during which he led the team in 47 Test matches. He is the sixth highest Test run scorer of all time for Australia and the sixth player with the most number of Test centuries.
One of the major highlights of Clarke’s career was his triple ton comeback. After being dropped from the side, he made a dominant comeback in late 2005. Clarke made history with an unbeaten 329 against India at the SCG during the 2011-12 series. With this knock, the right-hander became the sixth Australian to score a Test triple-century.
The Australian great followed it up with a double century in the same series against India and two more against South Africa the following season. Among his most memorable knocks were a blistering 151 against South Africa in 2011 when he rescued Australia after they lost by 47 and his heroic 161 in Cape Town in 2014, where he batted with a broken shoulder to push Australia to No.1.
His emotional 128 against India in Adelaide in 2014, shortly after the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, remains a fitting tribute to his last home Test and to his former teammate. Clarke also enjoyed a memorable ODI journey, amassing 7981 runs with the help of 8 hundreds and 58 fifties in 245 ODIs. He also represented Australia in 34 T20Is and scored 488 runs.
His domestic cricket results are also outstanding. The former Australian captain has 13826 first-class runs in 188 matches, 9905 List A runs in 313 matches and 737 runs in 46 T20s.
