Could cricket's Michael Clarke soon be hanging up his captaincy cap?

Things are looking a little shaky for Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke. Constantly at loggerheads with his superiors, it appears Clarke’s teammates no longer look up to him as the respected skipper he once was.

Over the past few weeks, Clarke has had run-ins with almost every level of the Cricket Australia hierarchy, from chairman of selectors Rod Marsh and coach Darren Lehmann right through to high-performance manager Pat Howard and chief executive James Sutherland. Some members of authority claim Clarke has neglected to return their phone calls, even those relating to all-important matters such as the forthcoming Ashes defence in England this July.

It appears very possible that Cricket Australia team members will pitch for Steve Smith to captain them from next season, seeing as his common-sense, drop-of-a-hat approach as recent temporary skipper proved most favourable.

While fans of Clarke have suggested injured hamstrings and lower back problems play a part in his recent angst and anger – both relevant to the ultimate decision of whether he’ll play in the World Cup – others point to team selection politics as the main reason. Take, for example, the case of Queensland batsman Joe Burns getting selected for the Boxing Day Test, after which Clarke was visibly distraught for not having been consulted.

Whatever the reasons – which could be a combination of the physical, the personal and the political – Michael Clarke looks well on his way out of the cricket captaincy. Heck, he wasn’t even there at the big barbecue hosted by opening batsman Dave Warner on the weekend. And having been an Australia Day weekend, that’s a sore sign of sadder things to come.

Still, we’ve got to remember that Clarke has been a great player for Australia so far – despite his Ferrari-spinnin’ bad-boy antics. He has partaken in more than 100 Tests, scored more than 8000 runs, and captained our nation to an unforgettable Ashes victory.

And that is the man who will ultimately be immortalised in the annals of cricket history.  Antonino Tati