Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has revealed that his infamous 2009 dressing room fight with teammate Simon Katich was not the reason why the latter lost his contract with the national side two years later.
In 2009, Katich had grabbed Clarke by the collar during a quarrel regarding a delay in the team song, after Clarke had called his teammate a “weak c—“.
Speaking on Big Breakfast Sport, Clarke clarified that the fight was dealt with soon after, and did not play any hand in Katich losing his contract, which consequently marked the end of the left-hander’s Australia career.
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Replying to a caller who suggested that the incident led to Clarke suspending Katich’s contract after becoming captain in March 2011, the former batsman said: “Incorrect. Let me tell you the truth because you’re going off what you’ve heard or what you’ve been reading in the paper.
“Simon and I did have an incident in the change room. But from my perspective, because I can’t talk for Simon, it was done and dealt with. We had a conversation the next day, it was dealt with.
“What people don’t understand is, because I became captain of Australia, I have no say in who gets a contract. Simon Katich was not dropped from a team when I was captain of Australia or when I was a selector.”
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Clarke insisted that he batted for Katich’s return to the Australian setup for the 2013 Ashes, given the batsman’s strong credentials, but added that the selectors were adamant on handing out contracts to only two senior players – Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.
“You are entitled to feel whatever you feel, but I can tell you now – on that Ashes tour, I fought to have him back into that squad because, I agree, we needed a top-order batsman, and his numbers were outstanding over a long period of time,” Clarke said.
