Katich vents at Clarke ‘tumour’ claim
EIGHT years on from Simon Katich’s dressing room bustup with Michael Clarke, it’s clear the bitterness has never dissipated.
Katich yesterday added further fuel to his very public feud with the former Test captain, suggesting it ironic that Clarke has named Shane Watson as among players who were “like a tumour” in Aussie cricket.
The most publicised line from Clarke’s recently released autobiography My Story has been his “tumour” reference to former teammate Watson and a group of players, who remain unnamed, that emanated out of the Homeworkgate disaster.
Katich dismissed Clarke’s claim the pair were on reasonable terms and in the process went into bat for Watson.
“I saw Shane Watson’s comments during the week and I thought he hit the nail on the head with it. I thought it was rather ironic that he was called the tumour,” Katich said on ABC Grandstand.
Watson last week said Clarke’s reference to him being “like a tumour” was more of a reflection on Clarke than him.
Clarke wrote in My Story that the infamous throat-grabbing incident with Katich was overblown and said in an ABC interview on Saturday that the pair were on good terms.
“I’m fine with Kato. We caught up last summer when I was commentating. We were completely fine,” said Clarke, who also says he wanted Katich for the 2013 Ashes tour.
It would seem Katich has a different take. When asked on air if it was awkward running into Clarke while doing commentary in recent years, he said: “It’s a good question; it hasn’t happened. We’ve hardly spoken about it since it all happened … and obviously I (didn’t) play since he took over as captain.”