So all of a sudden Michael Clarke wouldn’t know a batting order if it bit him in the backside.

That was the message from Ian Chappell this week, who offered a staggering assessment of Clarke’s captaincy.

“The problem with Michael Clarke is his inability to visualise a batting order,” Chappell said.

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“I’m not sure he knows, or he doesn’t understand, how important a batting order is.

“If you have a side that (Australia) was like in the 1990s and early 2000s, it didn’t matter which order you bat them in.

“But if you have a side that is struggling with its batting line-up, you better get them in the right order.”

Chappell said Clarke’s comments that he didn’t necessarily see Shane Watson as number three drew a fiery response.

“I can’t believe the quote from Michael the other day, when he was asked about Shane Watson batting in the top order or top three, he said, ‘I’m not so sure about the top order’,” he said.

“Shane Watson, as far as I’m concerned, is top three.”

In March, Clarke led Australia to a 2-1 win in South Africa. Now, he’s persona non grata. Photo: Getty

How dare Clarke consider some different approaches to managing the all-rounder’s brittle body? Surely this means Clarke has no idea how to form a batting order. He’ll be asking Ryan Harris to open next.

Somewhere between Australia’s 5-0 Ashes rout, their 2-1 series win over South Africa – on foreign soil – and their recent 2-0 loss to Pakistan in the UAE, Clarke has morphed into a terrible captain.

On this very site former Test fast bowler Rodney Hogg accused Clarke of spouting arrogant baloney.

(Hoggy did have a point – there is nothing worse than a captain or coach touting imperceptible ‘improvements’ when your side has been played into submission.)

But why such a vicious, knee-jerk backlash?

A year ago, if you’d offered an Australian cricket fan a 5-0 victory over England, a gritty series win in South Africa offset by a 2-0 loss to Pakistan in front of empty stands in the UAE, most would have accepted with open arms.

Perhaps the increasing popularity of T20 cricket has shrunk our attention spans to such an extent that we cannot look further back than our last series in judging a side or a player.

The nature of the 24-hour news cycle and social media means outrage can be magnified, shared and reacted to ad infinitum.

In among all the noise, Shane Warne, between pictures of his bed and asking the Twittersphere who he should date next, became an ally and declared Clarke “the best captain in the world”.

So Ian Chappell reckons our skipper doesn’t know how to organise a batting order, and Warne reckons he’s the world’s best captain.

As usual the truth is somewhere in between and gets drowned out by louder voices.

Yes, our efforts in the UAE against Pakistan were substandard, but the criticism levelled at Clarke has been absurd.

Someone should inform Chappell that the side Clarke inherited was on the downslide.

Yet from 12 series’ as skipper Clarke has won six and drawn two.

The low points of his reign were a drawn series at home against New Zealand in 2011/12, and a loss on home soil to South Africa a year later.

The only other series defeats Australia have suffered under Clarke were in India and England – good sides on foreign soil.

Clarke is a fantastic cricketer, an excellent captain with an attacking approach and an astute tactical mind.

Our showing in the Middle East was disappointing. But in the same way sides from the subcontinent struggle over here, we struggle over there.

It shouldn’t be an excuse, but it’s certainly a contributing factor.

So let’s get a grip, ignore the sound bites and let the skipper get back to work.

He may not be the cute little Pup everyone fell in love with a decade ago, but he’s still a faithful friend who rarely lets us down.