Pup leaves behind a mixed legacy

He was the anointed one. He was the next superstar. He was stylish, he was fashionable. He had flair, he had flamboyance, he was adventurous. He was well trained, he was guarded, he was calculative. He made the front pages, the back pages, and even page three. He said the right things. He was Pup, he was the man, and he called the shots. Now he has called time.

It was hard to watch. It felt a lot more than just 11 years ago that a young Michael Clarke nervously strode out on to the field at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Time can break the hardest man down. The twinkle toes and the easy free flow of the arms that were hallmarks of the player who was earmarked for greatness at a very young age was nowhere to be seen as Clarke struggled to put mind over matter – and a body that was ever increasingly refusing to cooperate - and tried to summon up one last hurrah.

He thought he had in him one more cavalier innings like the one he pulled in Cape Town in 2011. But the water was well over his head with no life jackets in sight. He couldn't stave off the England rampage. He couldn't save Australia. The 34-year-old couldn't save himself. He weakly drove at a swinging delivery and walked away a defeated man. In 2004, Clarke was part of an Australian team that boasted of bonafide all time greats and legends, and conquered Steve Waugh's 'final frontier'.

He decided to end his international career after England rolled through Australia in just two days and 40 minutes and regained the Ashes 3-1. He began his Test career away from home and he will finish it in just the same way at The Oval in London, thousands of miles and numerous time zones away. Facing down Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, Clarke announced himself to the world with a match-turning and Man-of-the-Match award winning 151.

He scored 400 runs in that debut series, led the averages, and left anyone that watched with no doubt that he was on his way to being one of the modern greats of batting. On the field he was a run-machine. When Ricky Ponting stepped down from captaincy, he slipped in to the job and went on a tear from 2011 to 2013. In between, he smacked India in to submission. Even as Clarke's star rose through the Australian ranks all the way to the top job, the Australian public never entirely embraced him.

When Clarke was approaching his hundred at Bangalore all those years ago, he called for his baggy green while on 98. He understood the power of images – live and still, and the imagery. When the hundred inevitably arrived, he took his baggy green off and kissed it. The cameras ate it up. With arms aloft, baggy green in one hand and his bat in the other, he celebrated his hundred. He knew the power of posterity. He understood legacy. He knew himself. He knew how he wanted himself to be seen.

Clarke entered Test cricket with a bang and now exits with a whimper. He was part of the side that finally won in India after a gap of several decades but England has proven to be his unconquerable 'final frontier'. His average, touching 50, and the many remarkable innings he has played all around the world mark him as one of the greatest batsman of modern times.

But at the same time Homeworkgate, the Simon Katich episode, and his constant maneuvering to craft the perfect public image mar the picture. He was a strategically sound captain, willing to take risks in the chase of a win, and in the aftermath of the unfortunate passing of Phil Hughes, he stood tall in how he conducted himself and in the eulogy he gave. but over the course of his career, he wasn't exactly a great leader of men.

Clarke began his career with a band of legends that made history but leaves with Australia facing much uncertainty. Even though he was part of two victorious Ashes whitewashes at home, he leaves England empty-handed. He is celebrated as shrewd captain but has the unenviable record of most number losses in away Tests of any Australian captain. There have always been two sides to Michael Clarke and that will be his story.

By Subash Jayaraman