Michael Clarke vs James Anderson: A Sledging Incident That Crossed the Line

Check out the story behind the famous cricket sledging incident between Michael Clarke and James Anderson during the 2013 Ashes series

Michael Clarke vs James Anderson (Image Source: Google)

Cricket Tales (Famous Cricket Fights - Michael Clarke vs James Anderson) -  This story stands out from the usual tales of spats or indecent behavior involving international cricketers. In this case, the captain didn’t stop his fielder from sledging a tailender—instead, he crossed all limits and directly threatened the batsman.

Australia was on the verge of winning the first Ashes Test of 2013, and there was no need to provoke the last batsman, James Anderson, when he came to bat. However, in their eagerness to win and overcome past failures, short-leg fielder George Bailey and captain Michael Clarke went too far. Let’s take a closer look at what happened:

Match Details

1st Test, Brisbane, November 21–24, 2013 – England Tour of Australia

Australia: 295 (Brad Haddin 94, Mitchell Johnson 64, Stuart Broad 6-81) & 401/7 dec (David Warner 124, Michael Clarke 113, Brad Haddin 53)

England: 136 (Mitchell Johnson 4-61, Ryan Harris 3-28) & 173 (Alastair Cook 65, Mitchell Johnson 5-42)

Result: Australia won by 381 runs

Player of the Match: Mitchell Johnson

What Led to the Confrontation

Australia was desperate to win this Test match. They were winless in their previous nine Tests overall and in their last seven Ashes encounters. George Bailey, Australia’s T20 captain, made his Test debut in this match, making him one of seven Australian players over the age of 30. Despite this, Australia rediscovered their dominant form and inflicted one of the heaviest Ashes defeats in history on England.

To save the match, England needed to bat for over two days—something that seemed only possible with help from the weather. Unlike the Brisbane Test three years prior, where they had battled for ten and a half hours, England faltered. As James Anderson walked in to bat, George Bailey began sledging him from short leg. In response, Anderson was seen gesturing as if to punch Bailey. This appeared to provoke Michael Clarke, who stormed in and told Anderson:

“Get ready for a broken f*****g arm.”

Anderson tried to raise the issue with the umpire, but by then, Clarke’s words had already been caught by the stump microphone. Moments later, Australia sealed the victory.

The Fallout

Michael Clarke’s aggressive remark became a defining moment—not just of the Test, but of the series. It galvanized the Australian team, and from that point on, they never looked back. England eventually lost the series 5–0.

Clarke defended his comment as little more than "banter" but conceded his language was inappropriate. He said he was standing up for Bailey:

“I've heard a lot worse said on a cricket field than what the Australian or English players said throughout this Test match.”

However, former England captain and Sky Sports expert Michael Atherton criticized Clarke:

“He overstepped the mark. He was caught and seen wagging his finger in James Anderson's face.”

During the same match, David Warner publicly criticized Jonathan Trott, calling him “poor” and “weak.” Trott returned home immediately afterward due to a stress-related illness. England captain Alastair Cook described Warner’s remarks as “disrespectful.” This further weakened England, who, now 1–0 down in the series, had lost a key batsman at the top of the order. A whitewash became almost inevitable.

The Penalty and Broadcast Controversy

Clarke was reported by umpire Kumar Dharmasena and third umpire Marais Erasmus for violating the ICC Code of Conduct by "using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive, or insulting during an international match." He accepted the charge and was fined 20% of his match fee.

The incident raised serious concerns about the use of stump microphones. Paul Marsh, CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, demanded an explanation of how the comment was broadcast. In response, Channel Nine, the host broadcaster, issued an apology to Clarke, admitting that his remarks had inadvertently gone to air. Typically, they cut to a commercial break after an over, but on this occasion, the audio faders were accidentally left on. They acknowledged this as a rare and isolated error and pledged to prevent such incidents in the future.

Former England cricketer David Lloyd commented in the Daily Mail:

“We have the benefit of using a stump microphone on Sky that is not allowed to go to air, and I have to say that some of the stuff that was going on there went too far.”