5 great Australian captains who never won an Ashes series in England

#2 Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke was a batsman of great talent and enormous ambition. He was also an inspirational leader and the architect of some of Australia’s most famous wins. His batting also improved by leaps and bounds after he took over as captain. In 2012, he became the only player to have scored four Test double hundreds in a calendar year.

Clarke took over the reins of the Australian team after Ricky Ponting stepped down after they lost the 2010/11 Ashes at home. After enjoying a good start to his captaincy stint (where Australia lost just one series between 2011 and January 2013), his captaincy was questioned as Australia were whitewashed in India 4-0.

Though he continued as captain for the Ashes in England in 2013, Australia lost 3-0. But, Clarke came back strong and led to an incredible turnaround as Australia white-washed England 5-0 at home to regain the Ashes. In the 2015 Ashes in England, Clarke was Australia’s captain again when they lost the series 3-2 as the travelling batsmen were found wanting while facing up to the moving ball.

It meant that Clarke wasn't part of an Ashes-winning side in England.

However, despite his lack of success in England, Clarke will go down as one of the most successful Australian captains (24 wins from 47 Tests as captain).