Sydney, Aug 11 (IANS) Former Australia cricket coach John Buchanan took a dig at retiring Test skipper Michael Clarke on Tuesday, saying that the ‘Baggy Green’ culture eroded a bit under his captaincy.
The 34-year-old Clarke announced that he will retire after the fifth Ashes Test as England registered a comprehensive victory in the fourth match of the ongoing series to claim the coveted urn.
Since the announcement, a lot of critics and former cricketers have put Clarke’s career under the scanner and Buchanan was no exception.
“Players like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and others really tried to make the Baggy Green culture something special. But I could sense it was under threat and under Michael’s captaincy I can sense it has disappeared a bit and that disappointed me,” Buchanan was quoted as saying by news.com.au.
The 62-year-old also added that Clarke failed to fit into the team’s culture.
“I can remember guys like (Matthew) Hayden and (Justin) Langer sitting him down in a corner and trying to get him to understand what we were trying to achieve,” Buchanan said.
“There were times when I felt Michael did not understand or did not want to understand.”
Buchanan’s comments follow similar remarks by former Test opener Hayden who had said that Clarke “ruffled feathers” in the early stages of his career. Former batsman Andrew Symonds was also critical of Clarke, asserting that he was not a “natural leader” in the mould of former Test captains.