|
Michael Clarke
once said he would play cricket every day of the year if he could do so
at the SCG. Though he did not make the all-time Australian XI compiled
to mark the SCG's 100th Test, Clarke's story and technique are steeped
in the history of the ground. His feet dance in accordance with the
assistance on offer to the best spin bowlers, and his use of the crease
both forward and back was fostered by the variety of fast and slow men
who tried their luck on a surface with more subcontinental echoes than
any other in Australia.
With this in mind, it is fitting that Clarke will lead Australia in the
second Test against India, on a ground where he made his name and then
enhanced it with strong showings as both a batsman and an occasional
left-arm orthodox bowler. Intriguingly Clarke's record in Tests is
curiously muted, having made only one century, against South Africa in
2009. But his love of the place is clear.
"I know we love playing here, I know I love playing here," Clarke said.
"It's a great ground, it's my favourite to play and we've had a lot of
success here at the SCG, so we're confident walking out onto that
ground. It doesn't guarantee anything, but we're playing in front of our
home crowd, for a lot of the guys it's their home ground as New South
Welshmen and we're excited about this second Test match, it's a great
time of year as well obviously to be playing Test cricket.
"It's nice to be playing at my home ground I guess and obviously the
chance to captain Australia is very special in the 100th Test match here
as well, so I think that will sink in over the next 24 hours. It's been
quite a busy period from Melbourne, coming back here we've had a lot of
stuff on, a lot of training, but over the next 24 hours I think the
nerves will certainly kick in in regards to playing in another Test
match at the SCG in front of my family and friends and now having the
chance to captain here is certainly an honour and a privilege."
In his time at the SCG, Clarke has witnessed its character change from
that of the slow turners of the 1990s into the more rounded, classical
surface engineered by the curator Tom Parker in recent seasons. Those
characteristics are in line with those loved by players of the 1950s and
'60s, offering help to batsmen, quicks and spin bowlers in far more
equal measure than when Clarke first visited.
SCG all-time XIs |
"Conditions have probably changed a little bit over the last few years,
no doubt the way I was brought up on this wicket it was spin conducive
wasn't it," Clarke said. "I faced a lot of spin as a kid, I'd seen a
fair bit of reverse swing at a young age and generally this wicket is a
little bit slower than say Perth and Brisbane and what we've just seen
in Melbourne.
"It encouraged me to move down the wicket to the spinners, no doubt,
mainly because the ball spun so much and I wanted to get as close to it
as I could before it spun too much. It's probably helped the way I play
spin bowling, I've got to pay credit to the SCG.
"But the last couple of years it's quickened up a bit, there's been
enough there for the bowlers, swing and seam and you need to try and
adapt to that, but I think it certainly feels like my home ground. The
way I play I guess is very similar to the conditions I've faced, from an
18-year-old boy until only until the last couple of years it's probably
changed."
A panel comprising Jim Maxwell, Mike Coward, Phil Derriman, Gideon
Haigh, Phil Wilkins, Malcolm Conn, Warwick Franks, Andrew Leeming,
Malcolm Knox, and the SCG Trust chairman Rodney Cavalier, selected
Australia and World teams from those who have graced the ground over its
100 Tests. Three men about to play in this match, Ricky Ponting, Sachin
Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, were chosen in the teams.
No comments:
Post a Comment