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.
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.
