Clarke - Ashes Diary 2015

About Ashes Diary 2015

MICHAEL CLARKES DIARY OF THE 2015 ASHES HONEST, INSIGHTFUL, EMOTIONAL, EXPLOSIVE.

After a stirring 50 triumph against England last summer, hopes were high that Michael Clarkes World Cup-winning Australians would seize the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 2001.

Ashes Diary 2015 tells the inside story of a remarkable series filled with dramatic twists and turns. Captain Clarke takes us behind the scenes of the Australian squad into the dressing rooms, onto the tour bus, profiling the players and getting us up close and personal for every team talk, strategy meeting and training session.

Day by day, Clarke shares with us the innermost feelings and private thoughts as the Australian captain while he negotiates form breakdowns, selection meltdowns, dizzying highs and despairing lows on the hunt for an historic victory. After 115 Tests over more than a decade, Ashes Diary 2015 is Michael Clarkes straight-shooting farewell to cricket.

To my teammates on this Ashes campaign,
and in every game I played for Australia,
New South Wales and Sydneys Western Suburbs.

2015 Ashes

Theres always a lot of talk before a big series, but England in their own backyard will be a lot tougher than some commentators are making out.

Im sitting here in my room at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, and finally, I can start talking about the Ashes!

Before we all left for the Caribbean four weeks ago, I went out of my way to express to the players that I really wanted us to focus on this series, and not be distracted by thinking any further ahead. And full credit to the boys I think theyve done that beautifully. But wed be kidding ourselves if we didnt admit that what lies ahead in England hasnt been in the back of our minds. Of course it has. Its exciting!

Weve played really well here in the West Indies. Confidence-wise, thats an ideal lead-in to the next leg of our tour. Weve just won two Test matches away from home and, as a team, weve got a lot of rust out of our system. Sure, theres been plenty of cricket this year with the World Cup campaign and, for some of our guys, the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India. But until two weeks ago, none of the group had played any Tests since we finished against India back in January. I hadnt played a red-ball game since that emotional Test in Adelaide last year, right after the freak accident that killed our teammate Phillip Hughes.

The wickets have been slow here in Jamaica but also for our First Test in Dominica. Thats fine by me, because if we get slow wickets in England, then were even more ready for that. Guys are in form with bat and ball. And Im confident, with the experience we have in our line-up, that we can adapt to the conditions well face. So to be able to come here, play a tour game and two Tests and win all of them thats been good preparation for us.

Theres obviously been a lot going on in the UK. While weve been here, England played pretty well against New Zealand in two home Tests. They won at Lords but the Kiwis knocked them over fairly convincingly at Headingley, which was encouraging for us to see! I caught a lot of those Tests on TV here. What stuck out in my mind was how New Zealand won. They had discipline with the ball over long periods, putting it in all the right areas and showing patience, and their batters got through the really tough spots. Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson were outstanding.

Before we left Australia I watched a fair bit of England playing the Windies in these conditions as well. England toured here right before we did and tied that series.

It looks like England have basically settled on their squad and their selectors have made a decision they wont be picking Kevin Pietersen again. One side of me knows how disappointing that is for the cricketing public, because they wont get to see a great player entertain them. But the other side (and its the selfish side, as Australian captain) isnt too disappointed that hes not playing. Ive been on the wrong end of some amazing batting by KP, and I know how destructive he can be. Hes extremely gifted.

The hardest thing about this game is trying to find confidence.

The controversy has to have had an impact on their squad, but that doesnt necessarily mean a negative impact. Stuff like that can bring your team together and make you tighter as a playing unit, and I bet thats what the captain, Alastair Cook, and the new coach, Trevor Bayliss, will be thinking while theyre getting ready to take us on.

Its been interesting for me to sit back here and read bits and pieces about the KP stuff, but Ive tried not to get too caught up in it. Im happy that none of our boys have commented too much, either. Its better that weve stayed out of it. Weve got enough to focus on as a team without worrying about Englands problems.

Remember that England still have some great batting, and I think theyve been showing some of their best performances in the last little while. You look at someone like Joe Root hes stood up over the past 12 months and had great success. Cook is back in form, and we know what he can do at the top of the order if we let him get settled he can bat for days and days without playing a false shot, as we learned back in Australia five years ago. And we know how good Ian Bell can be at home, even if hes been a bit off the boil lately. So I think their batting is still strong even without KP, particularly when theyre playing at home. In foreign conditions, they might notice that loss a bit more.

Our guys need to expect England to be tough.

The hardest thing about this game is trying to find confidence. Once youve got it, no matter how good or bad you are as a team or as an individual player, you can be dangerous. Theres always a lot of talk before a big series, but England in their own backyard will be a lot tougher than some commentators are making out. Anything can happen once were out there in the middle thats the beauty of Test match cricket. This is not the same team we beat back home 18 months ago. No way am I letting us think like that.