Clarke needs to contribute

Michael Clarke, after Australia’s 8 wicket loss to England in the 3rd ashes test, stated that his side had been “playing with 10 players” because of  his lean spell with the bat.

There seem to be several worries for the Australians as they were beaten within three days by the England team, who bounced back after their humiliating 405-run loss in the second Test.

The main concern is the form of the Australian captain, who is going through a lean patch. In his past 28 Test innings, Clarke has managed to cross the mark of 25 just six times. This statistic is being used against him as many are questioning his place in the team.

His run of low scores continued at Edgbaston, with 10 in the first innings and 3 in the second and he even dropped Ian Bell at slips.

Other batsmen, after number four, Clarke, such as Adam Voges, are also struggling. This is because of the pressure on Voges when he comes in at 5 due of the falling of 2 quick wickets including the one of his captain. Clarke coming in at no 4 continuously has taken a toll on the batsmen coming down the order, especially Voges, who can be replaced by Shaun Marsh in the 4th test.

But Clarke told Sky Sports: “I think it’s always going to be hard to beat any opposition when they’ve got 11 and we’ve only 10, At the moment that’s how it feels. With my performances so far I certainly haven’t led from the front like I’d like to do as captain. I’ve always made that very clear, that’s a big part of my role as leader of this team that I’m scoring plenty of runs and leading by example. The form of number four certainly concerns me. England deserves credit, they’ve bowled well to me and found a way to get me out early in my innings.”

England captain Alastair Cook sympathised with Clarke and said: “I’m sure he’ll come through at some stage but hopefully not in the next couple of games,”

Clarke who has worked hard throughout his 11 years in the Test side, said that he now needed to work out how to prepare for the  fourth test  of the series, in view of  his lack of runs throughout the series. Clarke will consider moving down the order for the 4th test,

However, he looked tired by the end of the 3rd test. Are long tours to be blamed or is it time for Clarke?