Michael Clarke's form has been one of the few positives going for Australia in England. His coach Neil D'Costa speaks to Mid day on what makes him a terrier, never mind the cute nickname
Michael Clarke's form hasu00a0u00a0been one of theu00a0u00a0few positivesu00a0going for Australiau00a0in England. Hisu00a0coach Neil D'Costa speaksu00a0to Mid day on what makes him a terrier, never mind the cute nickname
If Australia end up retaining the Ashes by winning at least one of the two remaining Test matches and not losing any more, the 2009 series could well be known as Michael Clarke's Ashes.
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TON-UP: Michael Clarke acknowledges the cheers at Edgbaston. PIC/AFP |
After all, the Australia vice-captain has been in stupendous nick with the bat throughout the series. Had it not been for his match-saving century on the last day of the Edgbaston Test on Monday, the series wouldn't have been as alive as it is right now.
No wonder the 28-year-old is topping the batting charts, having scored 352 runs from five innings at an astonishing average of 88.00. In a series that hasn't seen huge scores, Clarke has emerged the only batsman to have crossed the three-figure mark twice u2013 at Lord's and Edgbaston.
Ever since Clarke made his sensational Test debut with a century against India in Bangalore five years ago, what's impressed connoisseurs about his technique is his balance at the crease. And if Neil D'Costa, who's been mentoring Clarke since the batsman was seven years old, is to be believed, the key to Clarke's success is not just his balance on the 22-yard-strip. "He's got his life balance right," D'Costa, who's heading the Vidarbha Cricket Association's academy, told MiD DAY from Nagpur.
"He is a young man in love, (with Lara Bingle) who is very happy with his relationship. He's got support there. He's got a good management team around him. So he's got good balance with his life.
"If you get a person who is happy off the field, he tends to do well on it." D'Costa also felt that just like all great sportspersons, Clarke's evolved as a player over the years.
"He's learnt his game very well now. He knows what shots he's playing well. He's playing a much smarter percentage game. If you watch great players, they tend to grow with their game. They don't repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
Style"From a young boy, it's very much his style. He hates to lose, loves to win. He's always been a player who enjoys being challenged."
And while D'Costa has been following the Ashes on television after hectic days at the VCA Academy, he's been taking time off to be in touch with his "kid brother" through text messages. "We've just been keeping in touch primarily through SMS. Since I am like a big brother to him, we just exchange stuff like "well played" and "tks mate" through sms. Sometimes, we send a joke just to keep in touch. And whenever we've spoken to each other in between Test matches, we've hardly spoken cricket. I believe in the theory: if nothing is wrong, don't try to fix it," D'Costa signed off.
