From pup to top dog

Michael Clarke has turned it on over the last three years, averaging more than 60 in his last 28 Tests © Getty Images

By scoring a century in his 50th Test, Michael Clarke achieved a feat that only three Australian batsmen had previously - Bob Simpson, Bill Lawry and Mark Taylor. More than that, though, what will please Clarke is the manner in which he has taken up responsibility and delivered for Australia over the last three years.

Fittingly, Clarke's unbeaten 103 at Edgbaston also lifted his career average to more than 50 for the first time since his seventh Test, way back in December 2004. After a dream debut against India earlier that year, Clarke's batting went into a bit of a freefall for the next couple of years, as his average slumped from 60 to 36 in a mere 16 matches. (Click here for his cumulative career average.)

Since then, though, the graph has been looking very good again. It started with the Ashes in Australia in 2006-07, when Clarke scored two hundreds and averaged almost 78. He averaged more than 50 on the tour to the West Indies, and more than 70 in the home series against New Zealand and South Africa. (Click here for his series-wise performances.) He wasn't quite as impressive on tours to India and South Africa, but his overall average since November 2006 is still more than 60. Among batsmen who've played at least 15 Tests during this period, only three have a better average.

How Michael Clarke's Test career has progressed

Period	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
First 22 Tests	1123	36.22	2/ 4
Last 28 Tests	2433	60.82	10/ 10
Career (50 Tests)	3556	50.08	12/ 14

Over these two years, Clarke has made the No. 5 position his own. He has played two-thirds of his Test innings in that position, and averages more than 55 there. Already he is the third-highest run-scorer at No. 5 for Australia: only Steve Waugh and Allan Border have managed more. Given his amazing run and Michael Hussey's iffy form, though, there might be a case for Clarke to move up a place in the batting order. Among Australians who've scored at least 750 runs at No. 5, only Hussey and Steve Waugh have a higher average than Clarke's 55.20.

Best Australian batsmen at No. 5 (Qual: 750 runs)

Batsman	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Michael Hussey	12	936	78.00	3/ 4
Steve Waugh	104	6754	56.28	24/ 29
Michael Clarke	35	2650	55.20	9/ 12
Allan Border	58	3071	52.05	9/ 15
Doug Walters	32	2134	47.42	5/ 14
Ross Edwards	15	839	46.61	1/ 8
Stan McCabe	22	1114	44.56	1/ 8
Keith Miller	38	1973	41.97	5/ 9
Kim Hughes	25	1360	41.21	3/ 6

The other impressive aspect about Clarke's batting is his adeptness against both pace and spin. He has handled the pace and swing of Anderson, Flintoff and Co much better than most of his mates during this series, and has been equally assured - demonstrating excellent footwork - against the spin of Graeme Swann. Overall, his average against pace is quite similar to that against spin, as is his scoring-rate.

Clarke against pace and spin

Bowling type	Runs	Dismissals	Average	Runs per over
Pace	2146	42	51.09	3.23
Spin	1410	26	54.23	3.12

Clarke's stats against each bowler present some interesting findings, none more so than the fact that while Andrew Flintoff has terrorised most of the other Australian batsmen, he hasn't found a way past Clarke: in 375 balls, Clarke hasn't fallen to Flintoff even once. In fact, Clarke has done extremely well against a couple of other hit-the-deck bowlers as well - he hasn't been dismissed by South Africa's Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel in the 360 deliveries that they've bowled to him.

However, the going hasn't been quite as good against two other tall fast bowlers - Steve Harmison and Ishant Sharma have been among the most successful against Clarke. Harmison dismissed him a couple of times in each of the last two Ashes series, and also nailed him once in the Super Test, while Ishant got his man twice on India's tour to Australia in 2007-08 and three times when the Australians toured India last year. Clarke has fallen to Sharma five times, at a rate of once every five overs.

Most of the swing bowlers have done pretty well against him too - Simon Jones got him three times in 2005, while Dale Steyn has got him five times at an average of less than 25. Among the bowlers in England's current line-up, James Anderson would fancy his chances the most, having dismissed Clarke three times in 130 deliveries, while Matthew Hoggard hasn't done badly against him either.

Clarke's stats against most of the top spinners are pretty impressive - Muttiah Muralitharan has toiled almost 30 overs without dismissing him once, while Anil Kumble has had mixed results, getting him six times but at a relatively high average. England's two left-arm spinners have had scant success against Clarke, but Paul Harris and Daniel Vettori have fared better. India's Amit Mishra, though, boasts the best record among spinners, dismissing him three times at an average of 17.33.

Clarke against various bowlers in Tests

Bowler	Runs	Balls	Dismissals	Average	Strike rate
Andrew Flintoff	195	375	0	-	3.12
Makhaya Ntini	101	204	0	-	2.97
Muttiah Muralitharan	98	178	0	-	3.30
Morne Morkel	82	156	0	-	3.15
Monty Panesar	89	136	0	-	3.92
Ashley Giles	149	222	1	149.00	4.02
Harbhajan Singh	167	372	2	83.50	2.69
Zaheer Khan	138	263	3	46.00	3.14
Anil Kumble	276	469	6	46.00	3.53
Matthew Hoggard	158	243	4	39.50	3.90
Daniel Vettori	95	201	3	31.67	2.83
Paul Harris	127	324	4	31.75	2.35
James Anderson	78	130	3	26.00	3.60
Dale Steyn	122	189	5	24.40	3.87
Steve Harmison	116	235	6	19.33	2.96
Amit Mishra	52	121	3	17.33	2.57
Ishant Sharma	81	155	5	16.20	3.13
Simon Jones	47	68	3	15.67	4.14

So how does Clarke compare with other top Australian batsmen at the same stage in their careers? Leave aside the Don, and Clarke's numbers stack up pretty well against the others. Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh had considerably poorer stats after 50 Tests, though both improved dramatically thereafter.

Other top Australian batsmen after 50 Tests

Batsman	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Don Bradman	6790	99.85	28/ 13
Ricky Ponting	3081	44.65	9/ 14
Steve Waugh	2387	36.16	4/ 14
Allan Border	3492	46.56	9/ 21
Matthew Hayden	4488	58.28	17/ 14
Mark Waugh	3222	42.39	8/ 20
Justin Langer	3487	44.70	12/ 15
Mark Taylor	4044	48.72	12/ 22
Greg Chappell	4058	53.39	14/ 20
Neil Harvey	4311	53.88	16/ 16
Doug Walters	3869	50.90	12/ 23
Adam Gilchrist	3159	57.43	9/ 16
Bill Lawry	4130	49.75	12/ 20
Bob Simpson	3995	48.71	7/ 24
Damien Martyn	3402	47.91	9/ 20
Dean Jones	3422	45.62	10/ 13

Clarke's career stats are still skewed in favour of home games - he averages 58.70 in Australia and 43.40 everywhere else. Even during this golden run, his two ordinary series have been in India and South Africa. In the current Ashes, though, he averages 88, with two centuries in three matches. Clearly, he is moving in the right direction.

Fit for a benefit

"You realise how much people care, and maybe you haven't always realised that in the past" © Getty Images

To parody for a moment: county cricket's benefit system is either a deserved tax-free handshake for a stalwart's years of service or an unsubtle form of legalised begging that encourages time-servers and blocks the potential influx of young English talent. County cricket's supporters and detractors can leave little room for grey areas, yet the experience of Jonathan Batty, Surrey's beneficiary this summer, suggests the benefit system can both transcend the bottom line and provoke debate about the unquestioning acceptance of all things under-30.

A youthful 35, Batty is the kind of character the benefit system might have been invented for. Times have changed, of course, since benefits were first introduced in the 19th century as a means of topping up the wages of poorly paid professionals (think MPs and their expenses but without the subterfuge). But the principle remains the same: Batty made his first-class debut for Surrey back in 1997 (even getting a bowl in a draw at Northampton), since when he has been as resolute a one-club man as you will find in an era where players are happy to forego the chance of a benefit to chase better wages in greener pastures.

And despite the effects of the economic downturn - Batty says he will be lucky to make half as much as some of his recent Surrey colleagues earned during their benefit summer - there have been other rewards. "Of course the financial side is hugely important," he says. "It's the reason benefits exist. But the recognition side of things is great too, especially from a club like Surrey.

"I think they've only had 170-odd capped players in over 150 years. Not many get capped, even fewer serve the time they need to get a benefit. Fourteen years ago I was struggling to get into the side and for a while it didn't look like I'd be lucky enough to get a contract. It's awesome that I'm still playing cricket for a living and still living the dream."

The chance to connect with the members - an oft-maligned breed regarded by some as the reason for county cricket's occasional reluctance to modernise - has made an impression on Batty too. "I've always struggled with people paying me compliments and there's been a lot of that," he says. "Fans come up to you and say how much they've enjoyed watching you play. It's quite humbling, even if it has made me feel a bit uncomfortable at times.

"But this is a great way for members and fans to say thank you. You realise how much people care, and maybe you haven't always realised that in the past. If you have a bad day, you can hear mumblings, but this reminds you what you give back, and that, at the end of it, you're in the entertainment business."

The organisation of a benefit season can be harrowing in itself. The county network is full of horror stories about players making a loss after hoping for a windfall, generating a sense of injustice that can be fuelled further when an England international who, in the age of central contracts, is barely seen at his county ground, rakes in millions. But Batty has seven or eight helpers - including his sponsor, Barry Kitcherside, and the tireless Tawny Hazlewood - who have made his life easier.

Well-organised dinners, Q&As and themed balls - with part of the proceeds going towards the CHASE Ben Hollioake fund and the PCA benevolent fund - have all allowed Batty to concentrate on his cricket and not fall into the trap described last year by the Sussex allrounder Robin Martin-Jenkins as "benefititis", whereby a beneficiary's bank balance is in diametrical opposition to the number of runs he has scored and wickets taken. If the runs haven't flowed, he says, it's not because he has been distracted.

But what of the accusation that beneficiaries are clogging up the system? Back in 1995, when a capped county cricketer could expect to earn £14,500 a summer without the guarantee of any winter work, the Northamptonshire slow left-armer Nick Cook wrote in the Independent: "The benefit breeds greed and is bad for the county game, and therefore the Test game. Sometimes players stay in the game when they have just about achieved all they are going to achieve, because a benefit is around the corner, depriving a young talent, and maybe a future international, a county contract and valuable experience."

Cook did not speak from bitterness: he was Northamptonshire's beneficiary that year. But he touched on an age-old complaint, and it is one Batty is aware of. "Time-serving can happen, and I'm sure some players do that," he says. "But if the club's structure is right it shouldn't happen. Older players should only be kept on if they're good enough. If youngsters are coming through then they should prove themselves ready to do better than the seniors. It's the Mark Ramprakash scenario: are others really ready to come in and replace him?"

Batty himself remains a championship regular, but he has been eased out of Surrey's one-day set-up as part of what he calls the club's "succession planning". This may not necessarily have thrilled him. "I feel I'm keeping as well as ever and I'm feeling great with the bat," he says. "I haven't made any big runs yet, but I don't feel my skills have been dropping off. I still think I'm at the peak of my powers and I still want to be playing. Look at Alec Stewart: he was still playing for England when he was 40."

Batty's lack of international recognition rankles, as you would expect it to rankle with any ambitious county pro. "I try not to think about England too much," he says. "But I look at some of the guys who have been picked while I've been performing well and I think I've been a bit unlucky not to get a go. But I have no regrets. I've had a fantastic career, we've won championships and the Twenty20 Cup. I've got trophies under my belt. I take a huge amount of pride from my 18 first-class hundreds, which I think places me seventh or eighth in the all-time wicketkeepers' list around the world."

He hopes to play for another two or three years, by which time he could be closing in on 10,000 first-class runs and 600 dismissals. He may have a tidy sum in his bank too, but the memories of his stint as club captain, of trophies won and of friends made are likely to be far richer.