Ashes 2013-14: Michael Clarke could go down as one of the great Australia cricket captains Australia went away and worked out what they needed to do to beat this England side. They realised they have to knock over the top order and attack the senior players. They have taken apart the Big Six. They have attacked James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Matt Prior, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook physically with short pitched bowling and mentally with aggressive body language and cricket. Ryan Harris's bowling to Cook has been absolutely outstanding and they have kept the England captain down. He has not scored a hundred against Australia for eight Tests and scored only five fifties in 16 innings. Nothing has gone England's way but it would be unfair to criticise them completely. They have just been outplayed by Australia. The Australian bowlers have hunted in packs. Mitchell Johnson's pace in the first two Tests blew England away but Harris, Siddle and Lyon have been consistent and posed wicket-taking threats. On top of that, Australia's fielding has been as good as I have seen it for a long time. The turning point for the Australian team was at Lord's. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can improve. It was embarrassing to watch the Australian team in that Lord's Test but in the space of six matches we have seen a complete role reversal. Lehmann has to take a lot of credit for the environment he has created but the brand of cricket we, as Australians, are watching and loving, is down to Clarke. He is the captain of the team and he has always said, even when they were losing in England, that they were working their backsides off to become as good as possible and play the style of cricket we expect in Australia. Remember he declared twice in England to try and get a result. He did not care if he lost. He was trying to put his players in positions to win matches. If you keep putting players in those positions, they get better. That is what aggressive captaincy is about. He was really nervous before this series but also excited by what lay ahead because he thought Australia were pretty close to clicking. You have to give him credit for sticking to his guns. He has copped a lot of stick as captain, works three or four hours a day on his back to stay on the park. There were thoughts after his first innings at the Gabba that Stuart Broad had a hold over him but the way he came out and made two consecutive hundreds when it really counted shows a lot of heart and courage. On the second morning in Adelaide he came out and attacked with the game in the balance. He trusted his ability to be aggressive and take the match by the scruff of the neck. He nearly lost his wicket first ball but went on to make a hundred that set up the chance for Australia to take a 2-0 lead. It took a bit of bravery but he stuck to his beliefs. When you watch the Australian team on the field you know who is in charge. With the England team it is harder. Prior, Anderson and Swann all tell fielders to move. It is time for Cook to stand up and be more of a leader in the field like Clarke. Not everything is working for Australia. When you look at the batting order there are still question marks over one or two people, but when you are winning you can give guys who are not performing an extended run in the side. When you are losing you search for answers and try different combinations. We saw that from Australia in England. It was not until the last Test they worked out the make up of their best side. The sign of a good captain is to get the best out of individuals who have had issues. Johnson and Warner have had problems of a different kind at certain points in their careers. But the cricket they play is high entertainment and exciting. It is high risk too. When it comes off it is great. Warner has been outstanding in this series. I don't think there is a better fielder in the world and his batting has been powerful consistently putting England's bowlers on the backfoot. Johnson has express pace and when you add in solid elements like Brad Haddin, Chris Rogers, Harris and Siddle you suddenly have the spine of a team.