Former Australian cricket teammates in a fiery word war

Simon Katich and Australian broadcaster Gerard Whateley targeted Michael Clarke after commenting on the state of Australian cricket yesterday, but the former captain fought back, calling Mr. Whateley "title in pursuit of a loose".

Clarke, 37, targeted Whateley with a strong message on Twitter, with six facts of his time as Australian captain.

While he goes on to say Whately, he "attacks" my leadership, my integrity, my opinion on Australian cricket who has to play tough but fair cricket and your statement that the Tampering Ball problem of the end of the year (about three years after my retirement) was sort of my opinion. fault ", Clarke kept his statement the most brutal for last.

"For Gerard Whateley, insinuating that I'm responsible for the falsification of ball does not make him a headline chasing a coward," he wrote.

"Maybe if he was talented enough or brave enough to pass on a cricket ground, he would have a better perspective than behind a mic.

"Finally, Mr Wheatley, if you think that the current No.1 team in the world of cricket considers that it is more important to be loved than to be respected and to play for to win in the rules of our game that you are also delirious are misinformed. "

As Australians enter a new era of lightened sledding, where being a good guy is as important as your hedging strategy, Clarke said the team had to stop thinking of playing pleasantly and find a formula that would allow him to win quickly. as possible.

"Australian cricket must stop worrying about being loved and respected," Clarke told Macquarie Sports Radio.

"Play hard at Australian cricket, because we like it or not, it's in our blood.

"If you try to get away with it, we will be perhaps the most appreciated team in the world, we will not win, we will not win a match, all we can do is want to win." . "

This point of view is far from popular after the ballooning scandal in South Africa, and the overwhelming cultural criticism of the team and Cricket Australia has prompted a rethink of how the national team should perform. his tasks. Katich blasted Clarke for missing the match. Mark.

"Once again, we find someone who misses the goal," Katich told Whateley today on SEN radio. "What has been forgotten is that we have blatantly cheated and there is a reason why we are at this point.

"We were caught blatantly cheating and we need to fix it as quickly as possible and regain the respect not only of the screening public in Australia, but of the world, and our behavior is an important part of it."

Katich explained that it was possible to be loved and respected, but that the words meant nothing without action and he did not believe that Clarke understood the seriousness of the situation.

"Michael obviously made his comments but he missed the point – how many times did we see an Australian captain being robbed of his captain's position for blatantly cheating?" Katich said. "It never happened before … it brought shame to the nation.

"We missed it, it never happened before in Australian cricket.

"The players understand, the three forbidden players understand the enormity of the situation because they lived this period.

"That's where people in the periphery have to keep in mind that what had happened should never have happened in Australian cricket, that's what happened and we went guilty of blatant cheating … some of these guys should be reminded of it. "

Whateley shared Katich's sentiment and criticized Clarke for refusing to accept the reality that Australian Cricket was created, claiming that the deplorable nature of Australian behavior on the ground was "a scourge that is part of of Clarke's legacy ".

"Clarke's interpretation of the difficult situation in which the Australian men's test team is located is breathtaking," Whateley said. "The fact that he continues to rely on the line – the fiction that his teams and subsequent teams had the habit of apologizing for all kinds of rude behaviors – could be the most great absurdity of the last nine months.

"The summer test ahead of us is a critical time of recalibration and Paine and his team who have the heavy responsibility of restoring the national cricket character deserve better than Clarke hopes.

"To hear him, read it just made me angry."

Katich, who played 56 tests and was touted as a potential candidate to replace Mark Taylor on CA's board, fiercely defended Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft's bans for their roles in the saga of sabotage. balloon.

As calls grew for the trio to be hosted in the national cricket this summer, Katich was adamant: the suspensions were to remain in full. His wish was granted last week when CA rejected a proposal by the Australian Cricketers' Association to overturn the bans or at least to lower them.

Katich 's blow at Clarke is the last shot of their bitter quarrel that was first revealed in 2009 in a fitting room. Clarke apparently wanted to leave the inner sanctum after a test victory in Sydney to attend a reception. the song of the team was late.

Katich allegedly grabbed Clarke by the throat when his teammate questioned him about why the song was not sung.

"After what I've understood, and this has always been the case, it's up to the song keeper to determine the moment (where the song will be sung)," Katich said at the time. a comment for ABC radio in 2015.

"It's his decision – not that of anyone else.

"There was a bit of a rush tonight to go to the next place.

"As we all know, there was some disagreement about when the moment should be chosen (and) as a result of that, I got a little … it bothered me."

Their relationship deteriorated when Katich's international career was interrupted when Clarke returned to full-time captain Ricky Ponting in 2011.

The opener played his last test in December 2010, never playing again because he failed to get a recall, even after recovering from an injury to Achilles.

"You do not have to be Einstein to understand that it's not just the selectors who have helped me get on my way," said Katich a few years ago. "I mean, to be brutally honest, obviously what happened in the locker room a few years ago did not help my cause."

Katich hit his former teammate two years ago discussing Clarke's comments about Shane Watson, where he was reportedly called "Team Cancer".

"I thought it was pretty ironic that Watson was called the tumor," Katich said.