Clarke batted at No.10 during early grade cricket days: Report

The Australian media has revealed that their captain Michael Clarke initially batted at No.10 for the Wests against St.George, aged 16 years and 255 days, and made just one run along with taking 2-26 from 10 overs of his bowling.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, not only was Friday the start of Michael Clarke's 100th Test, but it was also the anniversary of his first-grade debut for Sydney's Western Suburbs in 1997.

Arguably the world's best batsman at present, he is scoring international hundreds for fun these days, but it wasn't easy going for the teenage Clarke, the report said.

In that debut season for Wests he scored only 12 runs at an average of four, with a top score of seven not out, and he was unable to add to those two wickets in his first match, the report added.

Wests captain Scott Jacobsen summed up Clarke's entry to first grade in that season's annual report by saying that due to lack of spinning depth, Michael got a taste of first grade probably much earlier than he thought, the report mentioned.