Cricket: Gift of the Gabba

By DYLAN CLEAVER in Brisbane

If ever a cricketer looked as though he was born under a halo it is Michael Clarke.

The smiling Sydneysider made the Gabba his stage yesterday, announcing his arrival to the Australian public with a superb century.

In scoring 141 Clarke completed the amazing double of scoring a century in his debut test innings (151 at Bangalore) and his first test innings at home, the first Australian since Harry Graham to achieve the feat.

Graham made 107 in his debut test at Lord's in that glorious summer of 1893, and followed it up with 105 in Sydney in the season of 1894-95. Graham went on to play just six tests; it would be a great surprise if Clarke didn't eclipse that tally by 100.

To add to the sense of theatre, Clarke brought up three figures with a pulled four off the last ball before lunch. It wasn't quite Steve Waugh hitting a boundary to bring up his hundred off the last ball before stumps in his last test at the SCG, but it was emotional enough for the 23-year-old, leading an inevitable bout of badge-kissing and chest-thumping.

"There wasn't much talk about it until the ball before lunch," Clarke said. "He [Adam Gilchrist] walked down and said 'How are you feeling?' I said 'I'll let you know after this ball'."

His whirlwind partnership of 214 with Gilchrist took the game away from the Black Caps.

Gilchrist went on to score 126, a knock peppered with four sixes, but even he was overshadowed by Clarke's irresistible combination of the cavalier and the calculating.

Clarke's mum and sister was in the crowd, but his dad had to work back in Sydney. He thinks, but is not certain, he will talk to him by phone tonight.

"If he's not too pissed," Clark said. "I'm sure he will be doing some celebrating."

To calm his nerves before he bats, Clarke listens to music. "I've got the iPod and listen to a bit of a mixture. I can't remember what the last song was before I went out to bat, but whatever it was I'll try to find it again because it's a good one," he joked.

Only Daniel Vettori looked as if he had a plan of attack against the pair.

He bowled a quite beautiful spell to Gilchrist in the morning, that should have reaped the left-hander's wicket.

When Gilchrist was just eight Vettori beat his defence and trapped him plumb in front, but the only man who didn't think it was out was umpire Steve Bucknor (who, curiously, had given Justin Langer out to an identical shout the day before).

"I was pretty frustrated," Vettori said. "Especially when he goes on to get 100. It was a pretty big momentum swinger." Vettori repeated the dose when Gilchrist was on 94, but met with the same stone-faced result.

When Clarke and Gilchrist's partnership reached 198 it went past the efforts of Allan Border and Greg Matthews on this ground in 1985.

New Zealand won that test, but even the most ardent 'glass half full'-supporter would accept that scenario wouldn't be repeated.

- THE HERALD ON SUNDAY