Michael Clarke: Life and times of former Test cricket captain
He has a reputation as a talented and courageous cricketer but Michael Clarke’s off-field life has long taken most of the spotlight. This is the story of the polarising figure.
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Michael Clarke’s tale isn’t merely one of a cricketer.
The 43-year-old may own a place among Australia’s baggy green giants but he remains a polarising figure, long after the whiz-kid from Liverpool rose to sporting fame.
In January 2023 he was again in the headlines after he and Today Show host Karl Stefanovic were filmed squaring off in a wild fracas in a public park, in which Clarke was slapped across the face by his girlfriend and accused of cheating.
Clarke somewhat addressed the incident on his Big Sports Breakfast radio show on January 23, though all he touched on was the “fine” leg injury he sustained during the mayhem,
Between clashes with teammates and very public relationship breakdowns, Clarke steered the nation through a period of mourning and became one of our batting greats.
This is the story of the cricket prodigy who still divides a nation.
BEGINNINGS
Born April 2, 1981 to mother Debbie and father Les, Clarke attended Marsden Road Public School and then Westfield Sports High School in western Sydney.
He quit school after Year 11 to focus on cricket, a decision he would later regret.
“If I think about education in general, I would have liked to have studied harder and to have finished year 12,” he told the Financial Review in 2015.
Fittingly his first job was at the Kingsgrove Sports Centre.
Away from school, however, his early cricket talents that were obvious.
Cultivating his batting skills at his dad’s indoor centre, Clarke soon joined the Western Suburbs club and quickly rose through the ranks.
“I got my first bat at Christmas as a two-year-old boy and from six years of age my parents drove me to training and saved up money to buy me the cricket equipment that I needed,” he said in 2015.
“They would allow me to train everyday at the indoor sports centre at Liverpool as long as I’d done my homework first.”
By the age of 17, and with a growing cricket reputation, scans revealed Clarke had three degenerative discs in his lower back, a condition that would ultimately restrict his movement through his career.
CRICKET BIG TIME
Clarke was destined for the big time the moment he made his NSW debut as a 17-year-old against a touring Indian team in 1999.
The AIS Australian Cricket Academy scholarship holder was touted as one of Australia’s most exciting batting prospects in years.
Despite modest returns in his early seasons for NSW – averaging in the mid-30s – Clarke’s ascent to the Australia side was inevitable.
He made his one-day international debut in January 2003 against England at Adelaide Oval.
A string of impressive displays led to his Test debut in India in 2004.
This truly became his breakout performance, with swift feet in tough conditions helping Clarke to a century in Bangalore.
His promise as a left-arm off-spinner was also underlined when he stole the show with 6-9 in the fourth Test.
After a home debut century followed, Clarke struggled over the next 12 months and was ultimately dropped during the Test series with West Indies.
Improved returns and a tighter technique for NSW allowed his return to the national set-up in 2006, though he remained an enigmatic performer for the next two seasons.
His use as a spin option was reinforced when he claimed three last-over wickets to steal victory for Australia against India in the spiteful SCG Test of 2008.
Following Adam Gilchrist’s retirement Clarke was chosen as national vice-captain in 2008, a role which saw him sporadically lead the team during Ricky Ponting’s absence over the next few years.
Clarke would ultimately claim the role full-time in 2011.
While the team’s performances were inconsistent, this would be a golden era for Clarke individually, often drawing similarities to Allan Border as a one-man show in Australia’s fragile batting order.
PHIL HUGHES AND LATER CAREER
By now handicapped by back issues, Clarke enhanced his reputation as a courageous fighter on the pitch despite steadily inconsistent displays.
Clarke broke down in tears during a press conference but presented a strong character when the death of close friend and teammate Phil Hughes rocked the nation in 2014.
He would subsequently give an emotional speech at Hughes’ funeral in Macksville.
Weeks later Clarke overcame injury doubts to score a century in the first Test of the 2014–15 Border–Gavaskar Trophy at the Adelaide Oval, sparking emotional scenes.
“He has done amazing over the last couple of weeks; it has been tough for all of us but he spent the whole time by Hughesy’s family’s side,” teammate Steve Smith said at the time.
“Just the strength and courage he has shown through those times was unbelievable.
“He must be mentally drained … but the way he played speaks the world of that guy.
“He came out here and tried to do something for Hughesy.”
Only months later Clarke would lead Australia to the one-day world crown on home soil, also bowing out of the format after the tournament.
His Test swan song would come later that year when, after a horror Ashes showing in England, he retired during the fifth match of the series.
HONOURS
Clarke won the Allan Border Medal for Australia’s men’s cricket of the year four times (2005, 2009, 2012 and 2013).
However in December 2022 he got into a heated on-air debate with Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield about the merits of attending the awards.
“They are not enjoyable nights,” Clarke said.
“Allan Border Medal was compulsory. That’s why I went. If I was given the option, even winning Allan Border Medal, I wouldn’t have went.”
He also won the Cricketer of the Year in 2013 and also the Test Cricketer of the Year.
In June 2020 Clarke was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, “for distinguished service to cricket as a player at the national and international level, through leadership roles, and to the community.”
Months later he was inducted as a Cricket NSW Life Member.
He finished with 115 Tests for Australia, scoring 8643 runs at an average of 49.10. His epic 329 not out at the SCG in 2012 remained his top score.
Across 245 ODI games he scored 7981 runs at 44.58.
He led Australia in 47 Tests, 74 ODIs, and 18 T20s.
CRICKET BATTLES
Clarke, regarded as brash and cocky in his early days, may have grown to become a strong leader but gained enemies over the course of his career.
Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson once claimed the team atmosphere as “toxic” under his leadership, while batter Michael Hussey described the dressing room as tense.
Coach John Buchanan, all-rounder Andrew Symonds, opener Matthew Hayden, and, most famously, Simon Katich also spoke out against Clarke over the years.
Buchanan told News Corp in 2015: “Players like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and others really tried to make the ‘Baggy Green’ culture something special, but I could sense it was under threat and under Michael’s captaincy I can sense it has disappeared a bit and that disappointed me.”
In the case of Symonds, he and Clarke has been loyal friends until the Queenslander felt betrayed for his lack of support during a string of off-field incidents late in his career.
Katich, meanwhile, reportedly blamed Clarke for effectively ending his career once he became captain.
Katich allegedly grabbed Clarke by the throat in the dressing room after one match, a moment sparked over a series of issues.
“A lot was made that it was about the (team) song,” Katich said in 2015.
“It did happen because of the song, but it wasn’t entirely about the song being sung … it was more about what Michael said to me that night.
“The hardest part about the whole affair was that it took me a month to get the fake tan off my hand.”
Clarke also had battles with opposition players, including England fast bowler James Anderson who he famously quipped should “get ready for a f***ing broken arm” during the 2013 Ashes series.
AWAY FROM CRICKET
Clarke’s exit from the field was almost immediately followed by his entry to the commentary box, taking on a role with Nine’s Wide World of Sports between 2016 and 2018.
In 2020 he was named co-host of the Big Sports Breakfast radio show, a post he has held since.
Despite his upbringing, Clarke would garner a reputation for a love of the finer things.
He’s was an ambassador for watch brand Hublot and car company Toyota, and became known for his frequent appearances at red carpet events.
In 2021 he admitted a custom-designed Louis Vuitton trunk was among his most prized possessions.
“I designed a Louis Vuitton trunk that would be ideal for a cricketer and it was auctioned off for charity getting $160,000. They made a second one, which they very kindly gave to me,” he said.
As well as getting involved with several other business ventures, he also set up the Michael Clarke Cricket Academy in order to foster the next generation of talents.
In March 2022 Clarke broke down in tears on live television when discussing his relationship with close friend and former teammate Shane Warne.
“No more crying … my God,” he said on Today.
“It will be hard … I’m sure he will get the send off that he deserves but I don’t think I will ever say goodbye.”
Clarke, along with accountant to the stars and close mate Anthony Bell, in March 2022 reluctantly confirmed they helped save a man’s life when they spotted him struggling in Sydney Harbour when his single man sailing boat capsized.
That same month Clarke denied being involved in an angry exchange with a fellow diner at Rose Bay restaurant The Boatshed.
In 2015 Clarke competed in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, but his crew soon retired.
LOVE LIFE
Clarke’s first public relationship remains his most infamous.
Lara Bingle, who rose to fame for the “Where the bloody hell are you?” advertising campaign, was engaged to Clarke in 2008.
Clarke withdrew from Australia’s 2008 tour of the West Indies following the death of Bingle’s dad, however the pair’s relationship ended in 2010.
On May 15, 2012 Clarke married business owner and model Kyly Boldy, a former fellow student at Westfield Sports High School.
The couple had a daughter, Kelsey Lee Clarke, in 2015 but would ultimately announce their separation in September 2019.
In 2021 Clarke spoke about the challenges of being a single dad.
“She’s a great kid and I love when it’s my turn to have her with me. She is nearly six and has her own personality and there’s no chance I can tell her what to wear. I’m pretty chill like that, I just want her to have her own opinion and let her confidence build,” he said.
“There’s no rules, you just try to do your best for your kid.”
Later that year Clarke confirmed he was dating fashion business owner Pip Edwards, with their on-again off-again relationship ending in early 2021.
In July 2023 Clarke began dating Jasmine Stefanovic’s younger sister Jade Yarbrough, one half of the luxury shoe brand Mara and Mine, alongside Tamie Ingham, an heir to the Ingham’s Chicken empire.
The pair made headlines in January 2023 when vision appeared to show Yarbrough slapping Clarke after a fight.
Clarke told The Daily Telegraph: “I accept full responsibility for this altercation and am shattered by my actions”.
In February 2023 we got further insight into how the relationship operated.
Clarke returned to his duties on radio but was axed from commentary duties for Australia’s Test tour of India in February 2023.
In April 2023 Clarke and Yarbrough were spotted back at Noosa together and he made a cheeky dig at the couple’s past troubles.
In September 2023 it was revealed Clarke was set to enjoy a European holiday with Yarbrough and a group of friends, including Sydney artist and socialite Dina Broadhurst.
However by June 2024 it was revealed Clarke had found love again with real estate guru Arabella Sherborne.
Just like Clarke, Sherborne — who is leasing executive at Scentre Group (the owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand) — has had a few failed romances in the past and is now ready to settle down with “the one”.
In August 2024 the couple were spotted on Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Clarke’s custom Harley Davidson motorcycle.
However he was quick to shoot down the story after it ran.
“Anybody get murdered yesterday? Let’s put a picture of me going for a motorbike ride – that’s way more important,” he said with a laugh.
“I (could not) believe it when you showed me that this morning. Guys, get your priorities right. On a serious note, how does that make the front page?”
In 2016 Clarke published an autobiography, My Story, which reignited some of his simmering cricket feuds.
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