Way to go Pup!

To score a hundred on tracks which provide the best fast bowlers in the world enough assistance is a rarity these days. The hundreds scored on flat tracks are hailed by us no matter how boring they are. But it’s not our fault as because fast bowling friendly tracks are almost absent at present.

Thankfully, yesterday, we were privilege to witness a modern day aggression on a lively track at Cape Town where the likes of Steyn, Morkel and Philander’s guile and venom couldn’t stop a man’s staggering courage and will power to score a hundred. The current Australian captain Micahel Clarke was at his sublime best in terms of mental toughness and technique on a swinging Cape Town track to pull his team out of the fire.

When Clarke entered the scene to face the chin music from Steyn and co, Australia were reeling at 40-3.  Steyn took no time in testing Clarke’s technique, physique and courage with bouts of short ball with deliveries touching 150km/h. But Clarke declined to duck and face the chin music with commanding authority.

Champion batsmen usually are at their very best when the bowlers at top. Michael Clarke decided to take on the South African attack with a controlled counter attack. And to script a counter attack a batsman has to have the solid defense and quick foot-work. Micahel Clarke’s technique and foot-work were found to be well at home when he continued to essay some sweet drives and pull shots.

There was a touch of Tendulkar in Clarke when he smoked a length ball, not usually was on the driving length, past Steyn. The body position, the head and the complex mechanism of batting all had came into one point while playing that stroke against Steyn’s last ball of the 23^rd over.  

Clarke’s attacking mindset was understandable the way he smothered Kallis with floury of boundaries. Kallis’ over-cooked outswingers were smacked hard, the short pitched balls were punished and those widish deliveries’ fate was terrible as they cleared the boundary ropes no sooner had Clarke lifted his bat.

In the 29^th over Micahel Clarke was more severe on Morne Morkel who tried to bounce him but as time passed Clarke was getting into even better position against the short balls and for which the boundaries came crushingly in Morkel’s first two deliveries.

Clarke’s 50 came off a full-toss delivery from Imran Tahir against whom Clarke was found with meaty cuts and fleet-footed flicks and his hundred came against the “Jack of All Trade” Jac Kallis with a crocker of shot.

Kallis tried to tempt Clarke into edging a drive with a full ball outside off. The drive came, the edge didn't. Clarke walked into the cover drive and almost inevitably finds the gap and the hundred came in just 108 balls.

In toughest conditions the toughest characters survives. And it’s the toughest characters who exhibit courage under adversity. Micahel, the captain of Australia, exhibited enormous courage under adversity to claim himself the perfect torch bearer of Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh. 

That was a gem of a knock essayed by Michael Clarke.

Thank You 

Faisal Caesar