5 Cricketers who played through the pain barrier throughout their careers

#3 Michael Clarke

Clarke battled hamstring and back problems

Michael Clarke career was a roller coaster ride. It started in October 2004 when he made his Test debut against India in Bangalore in 2004 scoring 151. He played a crucial role in that series with bat and ball as Australia won their first away series versus India in thirty years. He also scored a test century at home against New Zealand and thus earned the distinction of one of the few cricketers scoring centuries on both away and home debuts.

He also scored a Test century at home against New Zealand and thus earned the distinction of one of the few cricketers scoring centuries on both away and home debuts.

Clarke was the captain of the Ashes side which thrashed England 5-0 at home to retain the urn and was also captain of the 2015 Australia side which won their fifth World Cup.

The New South Wales batsman struggled through a chronic and recurring back problem for much of his playing career. Over the years he missed a lot of games and though he managed it later on in his career by limiting himself to batting, it did affect his performances.

Later on in his career he became a victim of hamstring injuries. Injuries accompanied by poor form saw Clarke retire from all forms of the game in 2015. But not before he had amassed 8,643 test runs at an average of 49.10 and 7,981runs from 245 ODIs at an average of 44.58.