Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting had an at times difficult relationship. Source: Morne de Klerk / Getty Images
RICKY Ponting's decision to publicly air his frustrations about Michael Clarke's performance as Australian vice-captain has shone a torch on one of the most intriguing relationships in cricket.
And it confirms the widely held, but rarely reported suspicion, that the Ponting-Clarke leadership ticket just didn't click.
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Relationships are always difficult to write about because only those involved truly know what's happening and this one was particularly tricky to assess because it was hard to quantify the depth of strain.
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Branding this one a feud seems a tad harsh because, to our knowledge, there was no finger pointing or angry words. Both men had too much class to vent even the smallest syllable of disrespect for the other in public.
Cold war, while closer, was probably a touch strong the other way because it is not as if they never talked.
The words "loveless union" probably hit the spot ... like a stale marriage where two people are living under the same roof but living different lives with one engrossed in the present and the other in the future.
Sometimes three paragraphs in a career-ending autobiography can say more than 300 hours of froth-and-bubble press conference material.
So it was when Ponting wrote this in his just released work, At the Close of Play: "It was true that I'd been disappointed with some of the things he (Clarke) had done – or more accurately hadn't done – as vice-captain ...
Michael Clarke embraces Ricky Ponting. Source: Getty Images
"It wasn't that he was disruptive or treacherous ... but he had never been one to get too involved in planning sessions and debriefs at the end of a day's play, or to volunteer to take any of the captain's workload. More than once Tim Nielsen and I had encouraged him to take on more of a leadership role but when Pup was down on form or had a problem away from cricket he would go into his shell."
After all these years of smoke and whispers there it was in black and white – subtle, but undeniable confirmation Ponting wanted more from Clarke as a vice-captain than he was prepared to give.
One of the reasons Clarke is not popular with many of the senior players from Ponting's era is that they took this issue even more personally than Ponting did. They knew Ponting was running a side in decline and they wanted him to be supported by a dynamic vice-captain.
They don't say it publicly but many felt the retirement of Adam Gilchrist was one of the most underrated events in recent Australian cricket history.
Gilchrist was a vibrant vice-captain who always had his captain's back. Whether it be reminding Ponting to mention someone in a speech or having a drink with an out-of-form teammate, Gilchrist was a mature, streetwise, sensitive deputy who buzzed around behind the scenes.
There is no doubt Clarke sprung to life to be a brilliant Australian captain but, to Ponting's mates, that only confirmed he had more to give.
In time Clarke may be remembered as the most daring of the lot and for that we constantly give him deserved credit. If there has been a more proactive leader in Test cricket over the last 30 years, I have missed him.
But there is rich irony in the challenge now confronting Clarke in his quest to build a strong team culture.
It is now his duty to remind players that the team must be more than a sum of its parts, that you should care for and cajole the man beside you, that the joy of a good day for the team should override the anguish of a personal failure.
In his new book, Ponting claims that a young Clarke lacked these virtues. It must be said that all men have the right to grow up.
Ponting was a young scallywag himself and matured into a statesman of the game.
Clarke is on his way and when he sits with a youngster to give him an address about team culture he can at least say: "I was like you once."
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