Michael Clarke: My Story

by Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke is an international cricket legend and one of the most talked about Australians of the 21st century. Until 2015 he held 'the highest office in the land' - Australian cricket captain - and was widely hailed as the sharpest mind in the game.

In a storied career from 2004 - 2015, Clarke played 115 Tests and scored 81 centuries for Australia and NSW with a top score of 329 not out. In that decade Michael Clarke was front page and back page news - his life, cricket career, lovers, friendships and endorsements were splashed across newspapers, magazines and TV networks.

Certainly, where it mattered Clarke was a hero - leading from the front and batting his side out of trouble to lead them from fifth in the world rankings to number one. But in the echo chamber of social media, the truth about Clarke got warped and then lost.

Michael Clarke's Autobiography is the real Michael Clarke standing up and speaking out for the first time. Bucking convention to go hard at the big issues, Clarke speaks fearlessly and poignantly about all the scandals, rumours and explosive moments and reveals the amazing truths, private pain and personal triumphs no one knows.

About the Author

Michael Clarke was born in Liverpool, in Sydney's south in 1981. He made his Test debut in 2004 v India, scoring 151. Clarke became Australia's 43rd Test cricket captain in 2011 while also leading Australia's one-day side. In 115 Tests he scored 8643 runs, averaging 49.10. Clarke is a four-time winner of the Allan Border Medal and was twice named Wisden Cricketer of the Year. After 245 ODI games and almost 8000 runs his final ODI innings of 74 won Australia the 2015 World Cup. Clarke retired from Test cricket in 2015 with a win-loss-draw record of 24-16-7 as captain. He lives in Sydney with wife Kyly and daughter Kelsey Lee.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

480 pages, Hardcover

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!!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a cricketer, Michael Clarke stands out as one of Australia’s most celebrated stars of the game. As a person, he was often the subject of tabloid journalism, so I couldn’t wait to listen to his autobiography and to listen to his own words.

What I found was that Michael Clarke, while brash, modern and unapologetic, loves the game and has a real appreciation for those pillars of the sport who came before him. I learned so much about cricket and really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at cricket hierarchy in Australia in particular. In his book, Clarke didn’t shy away from reported controversies that he was a part of and didn’t spare us of many details what it was like to be captain of the Australia side.

While injuries led to his retirement from international cricket in 2015 at the relatively young playing age of 34, I really didn’t know the extent of his condition and what a struggle it had been for many of his years. He had been diagnosed with a chronic back condition at just seventeen, so, in hindsight, it’s quite remarkable that he lasted as long as he did.

Putting his pretty incredible on-field career aside, Clarke outlines many of the events that made the headlines back in his day and more than clears the air. Looking back, we were fed a certain persona and much of it was clearly untrue. Michael Clarke marched to his own beat, and I think that was frowned upon by the remnants of the stodgy old guard in the dressing room and back at corporate. Clearly the late great bowler Shane Warne could empathise with Clarke and thus, befriended him from the beginning. That says it all.

So, in closing, this is an unfiltered, honest account of Michael Clarke, who is aware of his shortcomings and eager, at printing, to move forward with his post-retirement life. He wrote this book with the same class that he played cricket, and I highly recommend it.

[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.

[Simon Esmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

if I could it be 3 1/2 stars

[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.

[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.