Bangladesh may not appear the most daunting of touring teams. But as a stand-in skipper of the host nation, the job cannot be too easy as Michael Clarke found out.
A clean sweep victory against a Bangladesh team in a three match one day international series is not necessarily creating sports headlines by any stretch of the imagination. It is with this kind of assurance that Cricket Australia decided to anoint Michael Clarke into the role of skippering the Australian side. While the Bangladesh team provided next to no problems for the Australians, there were plenty of issues within the Australian dressing room that needed a sterner Clarke to turn up own the field.
Clarke, the enigmatic player dubbed ‘the pup’ by his team mates and often found on the more glamourous pages courtesy his fiancé Lara Bingle, stepped into a role for the Australian side when Bangladesh arrived. He was left in charge of the Australian side that has lost three, nay four, of its big players. Ricky Ponting was ruled out earlier while Matthew Hayden pulled up with another injury on the brink of the series. Brett Lee’s unfortunate scenario where the news of the split from his wife Liz Kemp created tremors in Australia and around cricketing circles meant the speedster was forced to take time out to address issues at home and also, with a better frame of mind to face the scrutiny surrounding his personal life.
As big as these blows were though not significant against Bangladesh, Clarke was forced to take an important decision, made tougher still by the fact that the person in question happened to be a friend. Andrew Symonds’ systematic ‘disintegration’ with authority came to a zenith with Clarke at the forefront. The only thing that an Australian management tough on its policy could do was give Symonds an extended vacation to think long and hard not only about India and the prospect of his reception after his infamous tiff with Harbhajan Singh but also, of his future with the Australian side. It was Clarke who had to put his foot down and it was clearly the highlight of the series against Bangladesh. Symonds’ may have been a blow; their friendship may be on the fringes- though it should not be because Symonds has unwitting shown Clarke in a much stronger light, one that bodes well for Australia’s succession policy.
Who said skippering a side against Bangladesh was easy, even for an Australian side?

For Symonds’ fracas, read :
Symonds: Getting into Hot Water for Cooling off!