Michael Clarke Archives - Kate Waterhouse

Date with Kate: Michael Clarke

27th November, 2016

Michael Clarke and I at Hublot’s 10th anniversary celebration for their All Black collection

Cricketer Michael Clarke captained the Australian cricket team from 2008 to 2015. He became the 12th Australian to score a century in his Test debut, was awarded the prestigious Allan Border Medal and in 2013 was named the International Cricket Council’s Cricketer of the Year. Clarke, 34, chatted to me about the challenges of being an Australian cricket captain, what he has next in the pipeline and the best advice he ever received from West Indies great Brian Lara.

Now that you are retired, what is a day in the life of you?

As we speak I am commentating full time so my day-to-day schedule is pretty full on. I get up at 5.30am and go do a session in the gym for an hour, I then Facetime my daughter, have breakfast, then off to the ground to commentate. I wrap up commentating around 6pm, then head out to dinner with the boys.

Did you grow up wanting to be the Australian cricket captain?

Not at all. My dream as a six-year-old boy was to play cricket for Australia, but I never dreamt of captaining our country. In saying that, it was an absolute honour and privilege to be the 43rd Australian Test captain.

What did you find most challenging about being captain?

I think spending time away from your family is always hard, with the way tours are set up now you travel for 10 months of the year. And I think as any leader does in sport or business, when your team doesn’t perform, you take it extremely personal.

Do you have any regrets?

None whatsoever. I have learnt a lot of life lessons along my journey so far but I’m very happy with what I have been lucky enough to achieve.

What has been the most important life lesson you have learnt so far?

Try to enjoy every day, because life can be so short. Stop and smell the roses along the way.

What is the best advice you have ever been given, and who was it from?

Brian Lara gave me this saying on a piece of paper that I carried around in my baggy green satchel until the day I retired: before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead …You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal! Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin.

What inspired you to write your autobiography, Michael Clarke: My Story?

I wrote my book for my daughter Kelsey Lee. If anything ever happened to me, I wanted her to know who her father was, what I stood for and what my values were. I wanted her to hear about my life from me and not what she might have heard or read in a paper/magazine.

How long did it take to write?

Six months. It was a lot of fun and nice to finally be able to be completely open and honest.

What has been the public reaction to the book?

I think that most people that have read it have been very positive about how honest, self-reflective and self-critical I have been.

The book is very honest about some very public events. Was that easy to do?

Yes it was, it was nice to be able to sit down and reflect on my life. The past 35 years have been an amazing ride. Plenty of highs and a few lows.

If you didn’t go down the career of a sportsman, what would you be doing?

I would hate to know. That’s why I will always be so grateful to the game of cricket. It has given me everything.

Tell me about your involvement with Hublot.

I have been an ambassador for Hublot for two years now and it’s an association that I am very proud of. Their words that they live by resonate a lot with me and how I have tried to live my life. Be different, unique and willing to do things first.

What do you enjoy most about fashion?

Fashion allows you to show your own individual style. I believe people should be very proud of who they are and fashion allows them to show that.

What charities are you involved with and why?

I have a great range of charities that I am an ambassador for, all of which are very close to my heart: Life Education, McGrath Foundation, Cancer Council and The Loyal Foundation.

How are you enjoying being on the Channel 9 commentary team?

I have loved it. It is nice to be back in a team environment and talking about the game we love. The guys are fantastic and always good for a laugh.

Is it hard sitting on the other side of the fence?

Not at all. I played for a long time and feel that I retired at the right time as I am very happy with the career that I had fulfilled. I thought I achieved everything I could and now I am able to talk about the game, and help the viewers get a closer perspective of what it’s like out there in the middle.

As a commentator you will be asked to voice your opinion – good or bad. Does this come easy?

Being honest and calling it how you see it is not hard at all. I always try to be as constructive as I can be, as I remember how hard the game was at the highest level.

What are your plans for Christmas? I assume you will be in Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test?

Yes I will be. I will have Christmas day at home with Kyly, Kelsey Lee and my family but will fly to Melbourne that night in preparation for the Boxing Day Test match.

What’s your favourite thing about being a dad to Kelsey Lee?

Seeing her every morning when she wakes up with a smile on her face and giving her a kiss good night before she goes to sleep, and I love watching her grow and learn new things. She is just such a happy, vibrant little girl. She has me wrapped around her finger already.

What is next in the pipeline for you?

I have my cricket academy in Sydney, which is doing really well, and now with more time on my hands I am able to be more involved, which is great. I am also investing a lot of time into the digital side of my business. I will also keep commentating with the Nine team, and being an ambassador for the amazing companies that I am lucky enough to be associated with keeps me nice and busy.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I would really like some more kids. Family means the world to me and for all of them to be happy and healthy and I would like my business to keep doing well. Ten years is a long time away. I will be cherishing every day.

BITESIZE

WE WENT TO Hublot All Black 10th Anniversary dinner at Bay 21 Gallery, Carriageworks

WE ATE Charcoal Rangers Valley Beef Fillet

WE DRANK NV Duval-Leroy Brut, Vertus France and Hennessy VS Cognac

MICHAEL CLARKE Hugo Boss suit and a Hublot watch

Photography: Tim Kindler

Date with Kate, Lifestyle

Date with Kate: Kyly Clarke

28th June, 2015

High tea with Kyly Clarke at the Intercontinental. Photo: Jessica Hromas

Kyly Clarke is an Australian model, presenter and interior designer. I caught up with the 33-year-old to chat about being in the media spotlight, the biggest misconception about her and what she loves most about her husband, Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke.

What are you up to at the moment?

On June 30, I’m launching my Lyfestyled by Kyly Clarke candle and diffuser range. They are 100 per cent soy-scented candles. They’re handcrafted in Australia. It is very exciting: there comes a time in your life when you want to create something for yourself and create a job that you know has longevity. Also, it’s an opportunity for people to experience what I’ve had the opportunity to experience, and the places that I’ve been so grateful to be able to see travelling the world. I thought the power of scent was an amazing way to bring back a piece of Positano or bring back a piece of Paris and allow other people to enjoy that.

Do you have plans for expansion? Will you go into other products?

I’d eventually love to have some kind of a homewares range, even if that’s collaboration because my main focus is the candles. But, with anything in life, you need to crawl before you walk. You don’t take big bites and then not be able to deliver.

You seem to have always shied away from the media. Now that you’ve got your own brand you’ve got to promote, how do you feel about stepping into the spotlight?

I think it’s different. I feel [now I’m] more of a businesswoman I feel like there’s a reason for me to actually speak about something. That’s maybe the reason why I have shied away; I feel like people would probably [have thought], “She is just a wife or a girlfriend of a person”. To me, that’s exactly who I am as well, [but] I think the term “celebrity” never really made sense to me. When I was younger I didn’t look up to celebrities. I think you should look up to people who inspire you, people who are hard workers, who have great values and aspirations. I guess that’s the role that I would prefer to take. I want to be a strong independent woman, someone who can do things on her own, a woman who has a business, who wants to be an entrepreneur and continue to be successful in this industry for a very long time. If I want to be seen as anybody, I would like to be seen as my own person.

You married one of the most famous people in Australia. Was it hard to deal with the media attention at first?

It was really weird to see [photos of] yourself [in the media] going to get ice at the petrol station. So it was quite awkward because you start to think, “Oh, wow. They’re picking on what I’m wearing or who I am or what I’m doing.” I think the one thing I’ve always tried to be is just a strong person … you have feelings and you do wonder what people are saying or what they might be thinking. But, I think at the end of the day, you need to stay true to yourself.

What’s the funniest thing you have ever read about yourself?

I don’t really read the paper … So, for me, it would probably be something that someone has said. And I’m like, “Oh, really? Did I?” But, I do know that I would have never thought my wedding photo would be the front cover of the [paper]. That was mind-boggling!

People are definitely intrigued by you and Michael. What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about you?

I think what people see with me is the hair and make-up always done. I absolutely love doing hair and make-up. I did beauty therapy when I was younger. I’m a perfectionist; I love doing things as perfect as possible. So that’s why I’m very particular about how I look … but I’m a big jokester. I don’t reckon anyone gets the chance to see that yet. You don’t know the Kyly Boldy, the one that my brothers and sisters grew up with, the one that sort of clowns around a lot, the one that probably would be in tracksuit pants all the time at home. I always send stupid videos to my sister or my cousins. I’m always doing dumb stuff, to the point where you go, “She is so quirky”. I think that’s probably what people wouldn’t see or know. You only see the part that they take a photo and put it in the paper. But I’m a little loopier than that! (Laughs).

You are super fit. How do you stay in shape?

I train every day, for about an hour. I run for at least half an hour and then I do a little weight session for about 25 minutes or so. I just try to change out the weights each day so it’s targeting different areas.

Do you and Michael train together?

Yes. I really enjoy that because it does egg me on because he is such a professional athlete. I do sneakily watch what he does and I’m like, “I’m going to do that for my hamstrings next time”. And then we’ve got basketball hoops so we play ball together too.

What do you love most about Michael?

I love how supportive he is. I love how caring he is and I love how much he loves us as a family. Him and I are a family, just us two, and I love that he puts that higher than anything … he looks after me like gold. I know that he’d give me whatever he possibly could in the world to make me happy. He’s one of a kind.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

Hopefully, with a successful business and a beautiful family.

So is starting a family on the cards?

Michael and I love kids. We look forward to starting a family in good time.

BITE SIZE

WE WENT TO InterContinental Hotel, Double Bay.

WE ATE high tea with scones, jam and cream.

WE DRANK English breakfast tea.

KYLY WORE a Ginger & Smart top, Josh Goot skirt and Tom Ford shoes.

I WORE a Max Mara dress.