Michael John Clarke (born 2 April 1981) is an Australian former cricketer. He was captain of the Australian cricket team in both Test and One Day International (ODI) between 2011 and 2015, leading Australia to victory in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He also served as captain of the Twenty20 International (T20I) side between 2007 and 2010. Nicknamed "Pup", Clarke was a right-handed middle-order batsman, an occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler and also a slip catcher. He represented New South Wales at a domestic level. Clarke retired from all forms of cricket after the final Test of the 2015 Ashes series. Early life and career Clarke was born and raised in Liverpool, New South Wales. He attended Marsden Road Public School and cultivated his batting skills at his father's indoor cricket centre in Liverpool after school. His junior club was the Western Suburbs District Cricket Club. When Clarke was 17, scans that revealed that he had three degenerative discs in his lower back, a condition that would restrict his back movement through his career. Clarke underwent core strengthening exercises to ease this condition. Clarke made his first-class debut for New South Wales as a seventeen-year-old in a game against the touring Indian side at the Sydney Cricket Ground in December 1999. He was an AIS Australian Cricket Academy scholarship holder in 1999–2000. In 2002, Clarke played for Ramsbottom Cricket Club in English club cricket. He became the first player to hit a double century in the history of the Lancashire League. International career Early years Clarke made his One Day International debut in January 2003 against England at Adelaide Oval. Clarke made his Test debut at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in October 2004, in the first Test match of Australia's 2004 tour of India. In his first innings, Clarke batted with good footwork against India's bowlers. He was not confident that he could read India's spin bowler Anil Kumble's deliveries, so he moved to the pitch of the ball to eliminate the spin. He scored 151 runs and was named the player of the match in Australia's win. He continued to play well for the rest of the tour. Despite not being considered a strong bowler, he bowled in fourth Test match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and took six wickets for nine runs. This remained the best bowling performance of his Test career until he retired. The Australian