After a three year losing streak in the Ashes, complete with a painfully recent 3-0 loss in England, facing the victorious English cricket team so soon was never going to be an easy battle. The public's faith in the young Australian team was waning.
Despite their failures, captain Michael Clarke records in his diary a feeling of hunger in his team: a hunger to strike back, a hunger to prove their talent to the world. A hunger to return the urn.
Michael Clarke led his team to an Ashes victory at home in a 5-0 triumph over the 2013-14 summer. Along the way, the tide of public affection turned in his favour for the first time. Clarke had previously been respected for his deeds as a batsman, but had not truly won the hearts of sports fans.
This Ashes series changed that. Clarke showed the grit, talent, charisma and aggression Australian sports fans look for in their leaders. Revealing and insightful, Clarke once again puts his unique mark on the sport, giving us his account of how he rallied both the team and public behind him to bring the urn home. Michael Clarke is one of the most recognisable Australian cricketers to date. He joined the NSW Sheffield Shield team at eighteen and made his international test debut only three years later. He is known for his remarkable batting partnerships with Mike Hussey - who could forget the triple-hundred at the SCG in 2012? - and his often open and frank relationship with the Australian public. He was made the permanent captain of the Australian cricket team, after Ricky Ponting stood down, in 2011.
Walkley Award-winning journalist Malcolm Knox is closely collaborating with Michael. Malcolm was chief cricket correspondent at the Sydney Morning Herald and has ghosted many sports books.
