Australia captain Michael Clarke enjoys
watching Sachin Tendulkar bat but hoped that the Indian icon doesn’t
score his much-awaited 100th international century during the upcoming
four-match Test series, starting on December 26.
“That’s (Tendulkar scoring his 100th
international ton) certainly a prospect. I hope that doesn’t happen. I
hope he scores it in his next series,” said Clarke ahead of their first
Test.
“He’s been an unbelievable player for
such a long period of time. I really enjoy watching him bat. If he does
score his 100th century, he deserves every bit of credit and applause.
“I think it’s going to be a great crowd
at this Test match, watching him and supporting him. I wish him well but
in a perfect world, I’d like Sachin to score his 100th century in the
next series India play,” he added.
Clarke has showed that he is all ready for the Indians by announcing his playing XI for the first Test 48 hours in advance.
Opener Ed Cowan has been named in the
final XI and is all to make his Test debut, while Ben Hilfenhaus’
experience was preferred over Mitchell Starc’s raw promise. The
out-of-form duo of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey have also been
retained in the side.
“I’m confident we’ve got the best eleven
to help us win this first Test in these conditions. I can use Hussey,
Ponting and myself to bowl a few overs. David Warner can bowl
leg-spinners too. We’ve got the right XI to give ourselves a chance to
win this Test,” insisted Clarke.
The captain, meanwhile, warned his
teammates that aggression on the field should be within a limit and not
result in ugly behaviour or controversy.
“I don’t think we need to (meet MS
beforehand in order to ensure relations don’t break down during the
series). I think both teams understand where we’re at. The relationship
between the Aussie and Indian team couldn’t be stronger.”
“We all understand there’s a fine line
you can go to but can’t cross. I guarantee nobody in the Australian team
will cross that. If they do, there’ll be punishments from the ICC but
also from Cricket Australia,” clarified Clarke.
The 30-year-old skipper expressed confidence if Australia could play consistently for five days they would win the first Test.
“I think we are as well prepared as we
can be. Now it’s about getting out there and playing some good cricket. I
think if we can be consistent and execute our skills for the whole five
days, we’ll win this Test match,” he said.
Stating that he would want to bat first
if he wins the toss, Clarke said, “My favourite thing to do when we win
the toss, is always bat. But you can’t make that decision unless you see
the conditions on the day of the toss.
“I’ll wait and see what the wicket is
like, see what the overhead conditions are like. I have no concerns if
we bat first on that wicket. If there’s a bit of movement, I’m confident
we’re ready for it.
“It’s important we play our natural game
if we bat first. I think you must have the confidence to back your own
ability. We’ve done plenty of work, so (if the batsmen stumble) it’s not
from lack of training,” he added.
Clarke said he did not want his batsmen to be restrained if Australia bat first in tough conditions on the first day.
“I think the start of any Test match is
crucial, whether you bat or bowl…we’ve spoken about that for a while now
that you need to start well.
“I make no bones about it, we’ve had
extra (preparation) time as a batting unit because we needed to get
better facing the new ball. We’ve done the work though. That’s all I can
ask from the boys. It’d make every single one of us very pleased and
proud, if the ball is seaming around, we can play well — which we’ve
done in periods,” he explained.
“The moving ball, whether it’s spin or
swing, is the hardest to face as a batsman, no matter who it’s against.
English conditions probably allow that to happen more than Australian
conditions, but in saying that whatever surface we get will be the same
for both teams.
“I think the key is consistency with
everything we do, as a batting unit and a bowling unit, (and) execution
of our skills. All you can do is prepare as well as you possibly can to
give yourself the best chance and I think we’ve done that over the past
six days now, whether it be as a batting unit or all together as a
team,” said Clarke.
Elaborating on why Hilfenhaus was
preferred over Starc, Clarke said: “Hilf’s endurance is a factor in his
promotion. I think it plays a part definitely. He’s a very good new ball
bowler, he can bowl long spells and he’s had success against India as
well. So there’s a few reasons why we decided to go with him.
“Mitch (Starc) is obviously
disappointed…he’s got an enormous amount of talent. He’s quite tall,
fast and can swing the ball back into the right-hander. He’s just got to
keep working hard at his game.
Clarke also clarified that Shaun Marsh has completely recovered.
“Marsh’s back is fine. He’s taken it easy…to make sure he’s fully recovered and ready to go for the Boxing Day.”
Speaking at length about James Pattinson
and Nathan Lyon, Clarke said: “Patto (Pattinson) is very important. As
we’ve seen over the past couple of Tests, he’s come on in leaps and
bounds. He bowls with good pace, can swing the ball and he’s only as
important as the other guys around him.
“As for Nathan Lyon, I don’t think he
needs counselling. He’s a wonderful talent…got to do things his way. We
have got to make sure we bowl Nathan at the right times, set the right
fields to give him a little bit of protection and then attack when it’s
time to attack.”
Heaping praise on young Indian bowler
Ravichandran Ashwin, Clarke said: “We’ve seen a fair bit of Ashwin, not
too much in Test but in one-day cricket. He’s very talented bowler, gets
a lot of bounce, can spin the ball and has got a doosra so he can spin
it the other way as well.
“We’ve looked at plenty of his footage,
we know he’s an important part of the team and we have to play him well
to have success in this series.”
Clarke said he did not mind that he appeared to be less popular than Ponting when it comes to captaining the side.
“I’m not that concerned. It’s about
scoring runs and winning games. That’s my job, that’s what I’m trying to
do. I hope I’ve earned a bit of respect. I’ve played 70-odd Test
matches and scored a few hundreds for my country so I hope there’s a bit
of respect there already.
“My goals are no different to any
(other) series I’ve played. I want to go out there, lead from the front
and make sure I’m performing with the bat. But, most importantly, I want
Australian cricket to continue to head in the right direction. I want
us to play some good cricket,” he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment