Michael Clarke is the right man to lead Australia, we need to discard our willingness to ditch captains Michael Clarke has been under pressure in recent weeks Source: Supplied Allan Border was the Australian cricket captain at a time when the West Indies were busy creating dynasties, leaving the Aussies (and the rest of the world) to sink to their lowest ebb in history. A parade of champions was either pummelling the bowling attack or sending down red leather missiles that nobody had any idea how to handle. If a batsman survived the opening pace attack, he would breathe a sigh of relief until the "second string" bloke started to bowl. His name would be Malcolm Marshall or Michael Holding and he often made Joel Garner or Andy Roberts look slow. These were diabolically long days for Border and his men. A nuggety AB, or Captain Grumpy, might score a heroic 30 runs in all of this and not a soul ever considered he was not trying his hardest or doing his best in very bad circumstances. Michael Clarke's tenure as captain is coming under increasing pressure Source: AFP Fast forward three decades and the quick fix generation has moved in, relentlessly questioning the leadership of sporting teams, demanding players are dropped after two poor performances and asking who the next captain will be before the last bloke has been in the job for two weeks. Michael Clarke is undoubtedly out of form with the bat. The most naturally talented batsman of his generation has an attack of the yips that has lasted for months. The two test tour of the Middle East against Pakistan was an abject failure for Clarke and his men, all of them. Nobody performed well with the bat or ball and Clarke looked sullen as he tried desperately to muster some enthusiasm for test matches played in front of a meagre number of spectators. Still recovering from a chronic back injury, Clarke's captaincy against Pakistan seemed erratic and wanting. His team failed to make any impact on Pakistani batsmen used to torrid Asian conditions and apparently happy to see a handful of fans applaud them. Australia's batting was woeful with few exceptions. Those niggling doubts about the tenacity of the top six have reared their heads again. As a huge summer of Australian cricket looms, big questions remain about the ability of several "stars" to perform with the bat. This must have been weighing heavily on the mind of Clarke as he returned to Australia on Wednesday morning. He sat in an airport media conference with a heavy heart. A reporter from Fox Sports opened the questioning with a query about his capacity to retain the captaincy. Clarke answered with exactly the right measure of confidence and anger. The man who, in 12 short months, had captained Australia to an unlikely Ashes triumph and a victory over South Africa on home soil had every right to feel rankled. The short story is that there is nobody else equipped or appropriate to lead Australia in cricket. Clarke is a prodigiously talented batsman who has proved himself as a leader of men. The longer story is that Australians need to discard their willingness to ditch captains, coaches or players the moment they hit a speed bump. If Clarke has been deemed good enough to captain Australia, two lost tests in appalling conditions should not change that view. If a batsmen has been selected to play for Australia, surely he should be given time to grow into the role? Such are the vagaries of selections these days that a batsman might only get one chance to prove himself on the big stage before he is ditched for the next poor bloke. At his best, Michael Clarke is truly great. An entire batting side can be built around him when he is in form. His captaincy of England last year should remain in our memories forever and not just for the week after the series has ended. Michael Clarke has arrived home in Sydney stunned after being asked if he fears for his captaincy. Here is a man who, against all odds and an England side full of its own importance, managed to oversee the mental disintegration of the world's number one test side. His captaincy made Alistair Cook look like a rabbit in the spotlight, and his management of Mitchell Johnson had the England batsmen unwilling to walk away from the safety of the dressing room. England will take years to recover. South Africa, with their arsenal of great bowlers, looked afraid on their own wickets against Australia, too. Clarke is in no small way responsible for this. The captain should be supported by Australian fans and the men who put him into the job. To sap him of confidence by constantly questioning his ability to lead is a travesty. The young reporter who asked the question has a very short memory. If I had dared to ask such a thing of Allan Border back in 1984, an older, wiser head would have pulled me aside and told me to go back to the office. Sporting endeavour is a marathon, not a sprint. Clarke will endure and he should be granted the right to depart when he is ready. He has earned it. Admire Rakti collapsed and died after the Melbourne Cup Source: News Corp Australia No need to air the tragedy The media is really to blame for once. Pictures of the champion thoroughbred, Admire Rakti, collapsing in his stall after the Melbourne Cup should not have been aired anywhere, ever. They are distressing pictures that serve absolutely no purpose other than to traumatise everybody who saw them. Some news services (notably Channel Seven) opted not to run the pictures believing they were not in the public interest and that children might be extremely upset if they viewed them. Those who did run them (and they were hard to avoid throughout the night) should have thought better of it. Woeful proposal I know it's not really sport but the sight of Geoffrey Edelsten proposing to his latest girlfriend at the Cup Carnival was verging on grotesque. Edelsten, never one to miss a photo opportunity, re-enacted the proposal four times for those outlets who missed the original. Truly depressing and something we could have lived without. Greedy beggars The dills at Cricket Australia who launched the Australian season with a pathetic Twenty20 game against South Africa at Adelaide Oval need to be ashamed of themselves. Here we are with a summer of wonderful cricket ahead and Cricket Australia decides to squeeze in three meaningless short over matches before the real stuff begins. Not only that but we are forced to endure it on Channel Nine. The greed of cricket bosses knows no bounds. Originally published as Australians must discard willingness to ditch captains