Michael Clarke: My Story

by Michael Clarke

He was the greatest batsman of his generation and, as captain, possessed the sharpest tactical mind in the game.Bursting onto the scene in 2004 with a Test century on debut, Michael Clarke was Australian cricket's golden boy. And the batting prodigy they nicknamed 'Pup' certainly fulfilled his destiny in a stellar 11-year international career of 115 Tests, 8643 runs and 28 centuries.Clarke's rollercoaster four-year reign as Test captain was marked as much by bravery as brilliance - a 5-0 whitewash of England in 2013-14, the 2015 World Cup triumph, and a ten-hour unbeaten 161, batting with a broken shoulder to lead Australia back to the #1 world ranking in 2014.Yet Michael Clarke also sparked fiercer debate than any other Australian sports star.For a decade his personal life, career fortunes and controversies - real or imagined - were splashed across front pages and scrutinised. Was he simply a hard-working, western suburbs kid living every Aussie boy's dream? Or a 21st century cricketer mired in all the trappings of celebrity?In the echo chamber of social media, the truth about Michael Clarke was warped, then lost. Clarke's enigma deepened but he kept his mouth shut and his dignity intact, knowing the chance to tell his extraordinary story would finally come. And now it has.My Story is the real Michael Clarke, standing up and speaking out for the first time.Bucking the conventions of traditional biography to go hard at the big issues, Clarke speaks fearlessly and poignantly about the scandals, rumours and explosive moments of his life; revealing the amazing truths, private pain and personal triumphs that no one realised.It's the incredible story of a remarkable Australian you never really knew. Until now.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

440 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Michael Clarke


Michael John Clarke AO (born 2 April 1981) is an Australian former cricketer. He was captain of the Australian cricket team in both Test and One Day International (ODI) between 2011 and 2015, leading Australia to victory in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He also served as captain of the Twenty20 International (T20I) side between 2007 and 2010. With his time representing Australia, Clarke won multiple ICC titles with the team: the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2015 Cricket World Cup which he was the winning captain, and the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy.

Nicknamed "Pup",[2] Clarke was a right-handed middle-order batsman, an occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler and also a slip catcher. He represented New South Wales at a domestic level.

Clarke retired from all forms of cricket after the final Test of the 2015 Ashes series.

source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[RM · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, the thing is, the dust-up between Clarke and Katich wasn't because Clarke wanted to meet Lara Bingle after the match, because Lara Bingle wasn't even in the country!!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that the reflections written in the book are quite interesting to read, or in my case, listen to.

Any person who sets out to write an autobiography is virtually setting them self for failure. Someone, somewhere is going to have a different take on the ‘facts’ as they remember them. I think that Michael Clarke has done a better job than some other autobiographies I have encountered. He seems to be prepared to acknowledge his failures in various situations and when he was criticised by senior players, he often wrote something about ‘probably justified’, or words to that effect.

If you didn’t like Clarke as a player or as a captain, then I think that this book will simply confirm your opinions. If you liked him, then you might reassess some things that you had previously thought. If, however, you come to the book with an open mind about him, I think that you’ll learn a lot about what made him tick as a person.

As one person wrote, the section on the death of Phillip Hughes was really good. I don’t know how many people would have been able to write like that. And then to be asked to play for his country so soon afterwards, took courage and a huge personal toll on him.

[Siddhesh Gadkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a great book if you love Cricket and if you are interested in every little detail and nuances of the game.
After all there's a lot more to Cricket than just batting and bowling.
Being his autobiography, he has given justification for his actions.
The kind of relationship between the players and administrators was new to me.
Also we get insight in to Michael Clarke's relationship with Shane Warne, Andrew Symonds, Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Simon Katich.
We all remember Clarke was the spokesperson on behalf of the cricket fraternity following the tragic passing of Phil Hughes and I couldn't help reading Clarke's eulogy on Phil in his own voice.
Michael Clarke is a man of strong character and you can feel it throughout the book.
Everyone who loves Cricket should read this book.

[Lachlan MacCorquodale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some pretty decent insight into the career of my favourite cricketer as a kid. Did a great job at diving into his experience with the governing body during his time as captain and how he became integrated in the side as the up and coming star in one of Australia’s all time great sides. The chapter about Phil Hughes was definitely emotional to read and brought back my own feelings from that time. The insights into some of his best innings were great but I had little interest in Clarke’s explaining of falling outs with various teammates throughout his career

[Scott R M · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book to hear the reflections of a journey that was highly reported in the media. Clarke needs to be commended on being open about his feelings and perspectives in this book. Some may call it a self indulgent book but this was clearly what he felt and as he notes, this has documented who he is for his daughter to understand her father during a period of his life.
Structurally, it was not periodical but it was still a good read.

[Marco Trevisiol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointingly bland and self-serving. Best section is the segment surrounding Phil Hughes tragedy but otherwise a dull read.

[Leonid Bronfentrinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read and gives a good insight into his thinking while captain

[Sunset · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standard autobiography

[Ky R · Rating 5 out of 5]

gg

[Vishnu Vardhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very scattered and disorganised book. Keeps shuffling back and forth in timelines which makes it difficult to develop a connection with the book.
As one goes about reading it, it comes across as very self-centered and does not give much insight into what was happening in the broader Australian team, the cricket landscape, the management, etc. Not much by way of interesting incidents. A sharp contrast to Ricky Ponting's autobiography that was excellent.
The second half of the book is very different. Clarke's discussion on captaincy and his in-depth recollection of the Hughes' incident gives the book a strong personal voice that was absent in the earlier portions.

[Vanda Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a very honest account of Michael Clarke's career . He has been a controversial cricketer at times and it was interesting to read his version of various events. I liked that he was prepared to take responsibility for any mistakes he felt he had made and did not use his book to bad mouth others.

[Simon Esmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

if I could it be 3 1/2 stars

[Tony Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

From his debut innings of 151 against India in 2004 Michael Clarke soon became a household name, not just in the world of cricket, but also across the board in cricket-mad Australia, full stop. Clarke lived his life, over the next decade in the fish bowl of the social pages and media, while carving out a cricket career that put him at the very top of the game.

In Michael Clarke - My Story, he is both forthright and opinionated, as you would expect. From his 2004 debut until his retirement in 2015 Clarke was rarely out of the spotlight, for his glittering career and for his off the field life. He played 115 tests in the baggy green, many of them as captain of an Australian side that had been built on the likes of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting before him.

He averaged nearly fifty at the crease and was mostly an adept captain and leader, from 2011 on. Clarke won Australia's top cricketing honour, the Allan Border medal, four times, and was twice named Wisden's cricketer of the year. His final knock in the ODI form of the game was a match winning innings of 74, taking Australia to the winning of the 2015 World Cup.

Michael Clarke-My Story doesn't pull any punches from an era when there were extreme highs and lows in the game.

[Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standard autobiography

[Toni Kely-Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book to listen to (although would have benefited more if Michael Clarke himself had been the narrator, given its his story). Whilst this is his view and he has clear thoughts and opinions on events during his career with team mates, media, etc. I enjoyed his insights into the cricket world and his views on leaderships and culture within a sporting team. I particularly liked his reflections on his style of play, preparation and approach to the game, particularly after he retired, and what he would have done differently.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for Cricket Fans. I probably wasn't Michael Clarke's biggest fan when he was playing cricket. But I loved his book understanding more of the person that the media didn't show. The book is not a game by game account but more big picture account of his career and what was happening in the cricket world while he was playing.

[Bev Maybury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been a life-time cricket fan & a long time admirer of Michael Clarke I found this to be a very interesting book, revealing details that I didn't know. I'd recommend this especially to cricket lovers as it shows great insight into the workings of Cricket Australia.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, very well paced. i liked reading about the ins and outs of a modern day team. Every thing from the feuds, to the preparation and all the side dramas you have to deal with.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at his life and how he dealt with being the captain. Many things I didn't know. I'd recommend.