He was the greatest batsman of his generation and, as captain, possessed the sharpest tactical mind in the game.

Bursting onto the scene in 2004 with a Test century on debut, Michael Clarke was Australian cricket’s golden boy. And the batting prodigy they nicknamed ‘Pup’ certainly fulfilled his destiny in a stellar 11-year international career of 115 Tests, 8643 runs and 28 centuries.

Yet Michael Clarke also sparked fiercer debate than any other Australian sports star. For a decade his personal life, career fortunes and controversies - real or imagined - were splashed across front pages and scrutinised. Was he simply a hard-working, western suburbs kid living every Aussie boy’s dream? Or a 21st-century cricketer mired in all the trappings of celebrity?

My Story is the real Michael Clarke, standing up and speaking out for the first time.