MICHAEL CLARKE has made as good a start to his Test captaincy as past greats Steve Waugh and Ian Chappell, as it emerged the current skipper has already developed the ''aura'' of an inspirational leader.
By destroying India for the second time in as many weeks, Clarke has matched the feats of Waugh and Chappell, who both presided over five Test victories during their first 10 matches at the helm.
Australia's victory in Sydney took Clarke past Mark Taylor - who posted four wins, including a successful Ashes campaign and a victory in the Caribbean when the West Indies were still world No1.
The only Australians with better records at the corresponding stages of their captaincy careers are Greg Chappell and Ricky Ponting, who, unlike Clarke, both inherited strong teams from their predecessors.
Clarke's coronation as captain last year, came when Australian cricket was in a state of flux on and off the field, but he has enjoyed positive reviews for his tactical nous and initiative.
Despite the team's topsy-turvy form in recent months, Clarke will finish his first 12 months as Australia's full-time captain unbeaten in four Test series.
With a three-Test tour of the West Indies to come in March and April, Clarke will be strongly tipped to preserve his undefeated record until at least the start of next summer when Australia hosts South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Clarke yesterday received a glowing review from coach Mickey Arthur, who said the 30-year-old had not only become the ''complete captaincy package'' but had also developed the ''aura'' characteristic of all great leaders.
After a week which saw Clarke scale new heights as a player with his record-breaking triple century, it appeared he has also stamped his mark on the team behind closed doors in the dressing room.
''First and foremost he's a fantastic leader, he's got an aura inside the dressing room and I think all good leaders have that aura,'' Arthur, who worked closely with the highly-rated Graeme Smith during his tenure as the national coach of his native South Africa, said.
''Michael Clarke certainly has that. He's structured, he's organised, I think he's dynamic in his captaincy.'' Arthur's comments were a glowing endorsement of Cricket Australia's decision last year to appoint Clarke as Ricky Ponting's long-term replacement despite murmuring behind the scenes about the 30-year-old's suitability for the role.
That Clarke has conducted his leadership role so well in the eyes of Arthur can also be viewed as a tick for the new structure of the national selection panel, which now hands an official vote to the coach and captain following the recommendations of the Argus report last year.
As much of the country switched into holiday mode in the lead-up to Christmas, Clarke put his head down to iron out the minor deficiencies in his game in preparation for the series against the world No2 Indians.
''In terms of his game, he was really disappointed that he missed out in Melbourne, he was disappointed that he missed out in Hobart,'' Arthur said.
''He worked extremely hard, especially in the lead-up to the Melbourne Test match to technically get everything working again.
''We saw the signs of all the work he put in escalated in this Test match here. When Michael Clarke's hitting the ball late and hitting the ball under his eyes, he's playing exceptionally well.
''There were so many graphics of him during this innings, hitting the ball under his eyes and hitting the ball late which was fantastic.
''The minute he feels out in front of his front pad that's when he gets in trouble. He's not doing that now, he looks the complete package.
And it appears the admiration between player and coach is mutual, which is a positive sign as Clarke was said to be a strong advocate for Steve Rixon to fill the post vacated by Tim Nielsen.
''Micky is a wonderful man, first and foremost, very successful coach and he's been fantastic for our team,'' Clarke said.
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