MELBOURNE, Australia–It wasn't long ago, in the scheme of things, when Australia's cricket team was in crisis. Now Michael Clarke and his crew are on top of the world.
The Australians were bundled out of the 2013 Champions Trophy in the first round, captain Michael Clarke was laid up with an injury, coach Mickey Arthur was fired and opener David Warner was suspended for an altercation with an English rival in a pub ahead of the Ashes series in England. The "homework-gate" issue in India, with Australian players told to identify areas of improvement, preceded all that. It was a rabble.
Yesterday, Clarke led Australia to its fifth World Cup title–and his second–with a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in front of 93,013 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia had won the World Cup in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean, but bombed out badly the only previous time the 50-over format's marquee tournament was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 1992.
Clarke has been instrumental as captain in the recovery, and so has Darren Lehmann as coach. Lehmann scored the winning runs for Australia in the 1999 World Cup final against Pakistan at Lord's, and was also part of the 2003 winning team. Clarke lifted the World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados in '07. Bowling coach Craig McDermott was a member of Australia's first World Cup-winning team, in 1987, and was also involved in the failed title defense on home soil. He devised some of the strategy that helped Mitchell Starc take 22 wickets and finish as the player of the World Cup.
It all adds up to a lot of experience at the pointy end of the tournament. And that was the difference on Sunday against New Zealand, which qualified for the final for the first time. The New Zealanders played exciting, edge-of-the-seat cricket to win eight straight games–including a one-wicket win over Australia on February 28 at Auckland–but were never really in the contest after losing captain Brendon McCullum in the first over on Sunday.
After leading Australia with 74 as it chased down 184 with more than 16 overs to spare in his 245th and last limited-overs international, Clarke was asked to reflect on that dark period in 2013.
"I can't remember it to be honest. I think I was in London injured, couldn't move out of my bed," the 33-year-old Clarke said. "I just think we've got better every day. I think our attitude has been unbelievable. The way we've trained, our preparation has been spot on, the discipline the players have shown to try and get better.
"I think that's why we've had consistent success over the last couple of years."
Australia lost that Ashes test series to England, but showed enough in some narrow results for Lehmann to predict a win on home soil in the return series.
He was right. The Australians destroyed England in the 2013-14 Ashes, sweeping the series 5-0. They followed up in 2014-15 with a 2-0 series win over India, and then won a limited-overs tri-series against England and India to fine-tune for the World Cup. The Australians didn't lose an ODI or a test on home soil over the southern summer, and entered the World Cup as the No. 1-ranked ODI team.
"I don't think I can leave on a better note," Clarke said of his ODI career, and of joining the likes of Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as Australian captains to lift the World Cup. "There's no such thing as fairy tales, but it's as close as it gets for me personally.
"I certainly don't see myself in the same light as those captains. All I can say is it's been an honor and a privilege to not only play for this country but to have the chance to captain Australia is something I'll cherish for the rest of my life."
Clarke made his ODI debut in 2003, and tallied 7,981 runs in the format at an average of 44.58 with eight centuries and 58 half centuries. He also picked up 57 wickets at 37.64 with a best of 5-35. He plans to continue as test captain, where his figures are just as impressive. Clarke said he learned from some of the masters of the game, and applied it to the teams he has led.
"The Australian way has always been about the big games–it's something I learned at a young age, that the big players always stood up in major tournaments," he said. "They weren't scared of losing. They always wanted to bowl or wanted to bat in that big tournament.
"That's something that I hope I've been able to do through my career when the team has needed me, stand up and perform, and I think there's a lot of players in this current change room that now love that, as well, and I think we showed that today on the biggest stage."
Lehmann has played his role also as mentor and coach, and brought about a change in attitude while still loving a celebration as much as he did in his playing days.
"They've been fantastic over the six weeks and the support we've had is unbelievable," Lehmann said, right before a group of players dumped a bucket of ice and water over him during a live TV interview. "That's why I love them." (AP)