http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 blames bowling and fielding for the loss – Cricket News Update
Michael Clarke, the Australian skipper, was absolutely devastated by the loss to Sri Lanka in the second game of the three match finals of the CommonWealth Bank series played at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday, March 6, 2012.
Clarke blamed the bowling and fielding for the eight wicket loss to the Lankans. Australians posted a competitive total of 271 runs, however, the bowlers failed to defend the total as Sri Lanka chased down the total inside 45 overs.
Even though, the Aussies did not drop a single catch, it was their ground fielding which was below power. The hosts failed to maintain the high level of fielding that they are known for and gave away a few runs in the field.
Clarke also blamed the batsmen for not making the most of the power-plays, and believes that the Kangaroos should have crossed the 300 run mark on a pitch that favoured the batsmen. According to the Australian skipper, as strong a side as Sri Lanka were
always in with a chance when chasing a total below 300.
He said, “Our bowling was poor, our fielding let us down. On good wickets you need to maximise your Powerplay, you need to make 300 on that wicket against a strong batting side like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. It doesn't help if you keep losing wickets.”
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 finds nothing wrong with the commitment from his men. The hard work is there but Aussies are not executing their plans properly, asserted the Australian skipper.
He said, “We can't complain, the boys are working hard, it’s just that we are not executing the plan against quality opposition. We've got to find a way.”
The Australian bowling unit was taken apart by Tillakaratne Dilshan’s belligerent batting. The right-handed batter along with his skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397, put on an opening stand of 179 runs.
Dilshan went onto score his 12th ODI hundred, as Sri Lanka drew level with the hosts. He was bestowed with man of the match honours. The right-hander, who was struggling for runs before this series was glad to be back in form.
He said, “I'm really enjoying my batting at the moment. I got starts but never converted them and its nice that I am converting now and back to my form.”
It is all to play for in the third and final ODI of the CB series, the match will be played on Thursday, March 8, 2012. The final will also be played at Adelaide Oval.
Tags: