Michael John Clarke (born 2 April, 1981 in Liverpool, Sydney, New South Wales) is the former captain of the Australian cricket team. He is nicknamed 'Pup' or 'Clarkey', he is a right-handed batsman, highly-regarded fielder and occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler. He captained the Australian team to a 5-0 whitewash in the 2013 Ashes series.