Honest Clarke admits to captaincy failings

Of all the revelations in Michael Clarke's recently-released autobiography, one stands out above all the scandalous detail of his personal feuds with former teammates.

In My Story, the 35-year-old explains repeatedly that he, a World Cup winning captain, one of only three men to skipper his side to an Ashes whitewash, a player regarded as one of the best tacticians of his generation, was a reluctant captain.

Clarke skippered Australia in 47 Test matches, including famous series wins against England and South Africa in the summer of 2013-14, and finished his career with a winning percentage of more than 50 per cent.

He also boasted a winning percentage of 68 per cent in 74 one-day internationals as captain, including Australia's World Cup triumph in 2015, and led the Aussies to the final of the 2010 World T20, the only time they have reached the tournament decider.

But in an eye-opening chapter on his seven years as Australia's vice-captain and then captain, Clarke reveals that he never harboured ambitions of holding the top job, and that he agrees with Ponting's assessment that he "was not a good vice-captain" during his three years as deputy.

Clarke believes there were "lots and lots of reasons why I shouldn't have been captain", adding that "it would have been better if I hadn't been made vice-captain".

"Ricky was by far the best batsman I ever played with ... but his style of leadership was very different to mine," he writes.

"And being so close to him as vice-captain, it was hard for me to be a yes-man when I disagreed with what was happening around me.

"Vice-captaincy wasn't a role that suited me well.

He continues: "I entered the vice-captaincy torn between two opposite forces.

"I was too scared to say what I thought, because I didn't want to offend Ricky or undermine the captain's authority, but teammates and support staff could see straight through me. I couldn't mask it.

"They knew I was p***ed off with Ricky's decisions or didn't agree with something that was happening, even if I was acting – very unconvincingly – as if I was backing his decision."

Image Id: 26CE3FB00F2542E4A78FE8F00CFFA3CF Image Caption: Ponting and Clarke were joint winners of the 2009 Allan Border Medal // Getty

Clarke's shortcomings as vice-captain were not lost on Ponting, who wrote in his 2013 autobiography – controversially at the time – that his deputy was unable to put personal disappointments aside and help lead the side during a difficult period that included Test series defeats at home to South Africa and England as well as a World Cup quarter-final exit in India.

It's an assessment that Clarke, with the benefit of hindsight, agrees with.

"What Ricky said was right: I didn't have that instinctive ability to forget about my own performances and put the team's needs first," he writes.

"I did get preoccupied with my own performances and go into my shell when I wasn't doing well.

"When my family and personal life were weighing on me, I couldn't just put them into the too-hard basket.

" ... Ricky wrote that he was 'disappointed with some of the things I did as vice-captain'. He didn't accuse me of being treacherous or disruptive, but said I was reluctant to get involved in planning meetings or daily debriefs and take on a leadership role.

"He was right. I was not a good vice-captain to him."

Image Id: 02B17C262FA04E7D8A2DCB1E9F11D483 Image Caption: Neither man captained Australia to success in an away Ashes series // Getty

Complicating the pair's relationship was the assumption that Clarke would one day succeed Ponting as captain, given he was six years younger and was the obvious candidate to fill the void.

Clarke insists the title of 'heir apparent' was thrust upon him and was one he felt obliged to fill given the increasing external pressure, despite his lack of personal captaincy ambitions.

"I could honestly and literally deny that the captaincy would be a 'dream come true'," he writes. "I wasn't my dream at all.

"I felt that there was a growing expectation from outside that I would be the next captain.

"It seemed that I would fit the timetable. I didn't ask for that designation, but once it was placed upon me, I felt that I had to deal with it.

"There were lots and lots of reasons why I shouldn't have been captain.

"When I became aware of the plans being shaped for me from higher up, I was humbled. But it was the worst thing for me to be anointed as the heir apparent.

"Somehow, the perception became that I was telling the world I was going to be the next captain, and I had sought it out. The truth was the opposite."

Clarke adds that his relationship with Ponting as captain and vice-captain damaged the friendship between the pair.

"I think it ate away at my friendship with Ricky who, I always felt, I liked a lot more than he liked me," he writes.