Clarke's Class a Sign of Things To Come

Moments in the evening of the 22nd July 2005 used to haunt Michael Clarke to his very core.

In the 1st Ashes test at Lord’s, while on 91, Clarke swiped at a delivery by Mathew Hoggard, the ball found his inside edge, hit the back of his heel and rattled the bails off the stumps.

It was a disappointing end for the youngster, but his innings left Australia in a strong position in the match and despite further wickets falling before dusk, his side recorded an emphatic 239 run victory with a day still to play.

To win a game in such style in the first match of a series was unprecedented, but in the first match of an Ashes series it was largely unfounded, many had the Aussies down as clear favourites for the rest of the series.

As for Clarke, in spite of his match winning display he’d blown the chance of having his name written on the famous honours board at the home of cricket.

Not many players have the chance to achieve such a feat, and for one so young it was hard to take to come so close.

In truth Clarke struggled for the reminder of the series, never once hitting the heights he did on that fateful evening at Lord’s.

Ever since the dismissal Clarke rued his decision to open his blade and chase down that most illustrious of scores, and he was confident the next time he closed in on the score he wouldn’t make sure a mistake.

"I can't wait to get back ... and I guarantee if I get to 91 this time, I won't be playing the shot I did in 2005."

Four years on and he’s gone not one but two better, with two centuries in three Ashes test matches this summer, scores which included him banishing his nightmares of four years ago with a breathtaking innings at Lord’s.

On Monday, on the firth day at Edgbaston the pressure really was on ‘pup’, but an 185-run partnership with Marcus North calmed any nerves in the Australian dressing room, and then with the precision he lacked in 2005, he went on to record his fourth century against England, the twelfth of his career.

It’s rare in any sport that you can take pleasure out of your own sides misery, but watching Clarke batting this afternoon was one of the greatest sights I’ve seen on a cricket square, a joy to watch.

If you think it’s taken this long for Clarke to mature as a cricketer you’d be wrong, as his career best score was recorded in the early stages of his calling, his debut test match in-fact, as he fired 151 in Bangalore against India.

Now for many batsmen, especially for those from alternative continents, scoring runs in Asia is the biggest challenge of all; Clarke completed this challenge at the first time of asking.

As his series in this country four year ago showed, he was far from the finished article but now 50 test matches on he’s heading towards becoming one of the countries greats.

He averages fifty in tests, a figure that he’s improve since the beginning of this tour and can debatably be called Australia best player right now.

Ponting recently became the countries highest runs scorer, but with Clarke having over 3,500 runs already to his name and at the beginning of his ‘peak’ years; the coming of age could yet see that record conquered.

For most Australia fans it might be an irony that Clarke’s 91 guided the side to a convincing victory at Lord’s, whereas his two scores on this tour have yet to see the side record a win, something that Clarke I’m sure is keen to set straight.