Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke arrived as the boy with the blond streaks and a cover drive that made old-timers nod, caressing the ball through the off side with the swagger of a rock star. By the time he captained Australia, the flash had given way to a hardened jaw and a willingness to grind through whole sessions, a batter once thought too pretty for the dirt of Test cricket turned into its most obdurate resident.

Handed his Test debut at Bangalore in 2004, he smashed 151, and later that series his part-time left-arm spin brought a scarcely believable six for nine in Mumbai. The early years were a seesaw of explosive hundreds and maddening inconsistency, mostly from No.5 or No.6. Only after he took the captaincy in 2011, following Ricky Ponting's resignation, did he become the side's rock, hammering 259 not out and 230 in consecutive Tests against South Africa in 2012, then defying a barrage from Morne Morkel for an unbeaten 161 at Cape Town in 2014.

The peak was 2012: an unbeaten 329 at Sydney in January, then 210 at Adelaide in a stand of 386 with Ponting. The captaincy cut deeper too, through the 'homework' saga in India in 2013 and a 3-0 defeat in England that year. He answered with a 5-0 home Ashes whitewash in 2013-14 and the 2015 World Cup title.

His fragile back betrayed him in the end. After a poor 2015 Ashes he retired mid-tour, months after delivering the eulogy for his friend Phillip Hughes. He finished with 8,643 Test runs at just under 50 and 28 centuries, one of the most gifted and polarising batters Australia has produced.