Clarke stunned by Aussie shocker on Boxing Day
Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke is at odds over explaining the stunning Aussie collapse on the opening day of the crucial fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne. The hosts endured arguably one of their worst-ever Boxing Day performances
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
After being shot out for a dismal 98 runs inside the first two sessions of play, the Australians had to endure a solid opening stand between Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, who rattled along to 157 for no loss by close of play to build
up a 59-run lead.
The Aussie’s were on the back foot throughout the day in front of an imposing crowd in excess of 85,000, who were hoping to see the hosts regain the Ashes, after they had made a great comeback in the series with a resounding win in the
third Test at Perth.
However their abysmal start at the MCG means that they are now set to lose their first Ashes at home since 1986-87, barring a miracle at one of the most historic Test venues in the world. Clarke believes that it was the batsmen’s indiscipline
which led the team down.
"We had to work hard and be disciplined with our shot selection, we had to leave the ball well and stick to our plans. We weren't at our best today," Clarke said.
He added, "Our shot selection wasn't great, no doubt. All our wickets were caught behind the wicket. We certainly have no excuses, we played some poor shots today and didn't show enough discipline. As we've seen, when the sun came out,
it's a really nice wicket to bat on."
The insipid performance by the batsmen has also raised questions about the captaincy of Ricky Ponting, and more importantly his ability of bringing the best out of his team. Many cricketing experts in Australia including greats like Ian
Chappell have questioned Ponting’s captaincy skills since the Adelaide Test.
However the man most likely to replace Ponting at the helm of the Australian test team is backing his captain. Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 said, "Ricky has been a wonderful leader and an amazing player for a long time, his record in international cricket
speaks for itself," he said.
Clarke added, "He's copped a fair bit of criticism of late and no doubt he'd like to score more runs, as a lot of us would, but there's no doubt Ricky should be the captain of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and the No.3 batter for Australia. Runs are around
the corner for him. Every player in the room supports him. Hopefully in the second innings he can come out and score one of those double hundreds."
Ponting and Clarke have both been going through a lean patch in the ongoing series, with Ponting scoring a mere 93 runs, as he continues to look like a shadow of his former self.
The man with more than 12,000 Test runs and a staggering 39 test hundreds has struggled to make an impact in the most important series of the year so far. He has tapered down with the bat, and there is little doubt that his captaincy has
also been affected.
The Aussies are set to lose the on-going series after the horrors of the opening day at the MCG. They will have to hope for a Sydney-like miracle, which saw them recover from being rolled over for 127 in the first innings, to win the second
Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 last year.
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