Michael Clarke hopes to start a new era in Australian cricket and lead the team to big wins
The newly installed Australian captain, Michael Clarke, has realized that his team needs to win big matches and series if they are to reemerge as the best test and One Day International team in the world.
Clarke, who led the team to a 3-0 win in a three match series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 earlier this month, added that besides team performance, he would need to bat at his very best if he is to command respect of his teammates, and the often
scathing, Australian media.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 claimed that for the time being, he has the support and respect of his players and team management, but to sustain that in the long term, he needs to up the ante and win games for his team, especially when the pressure is on.
This was a trait of his predecessors including, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh who would go down in history as two of the very best leaders of a cricket team.
Some of the members of the squad that participated in the series are occupied in the ongoing fourth season of the Indian Premier League.
"I certainly feel like I've got the support and respect as a player because I've played a lot of international cricket. For me it's about now gaining that respect as a captain and a leader and I guess the first and foremost way to do that
is to have some success on the field, to get some wins," Clarke told ESPNcricinfo before his return home from Dhaka.
The Kangaroos’ captain added that he would spend the coming few weeks reflecting on what needs to be achieved in the months ahead, and aims to formulate a plan that would hold the team in good stead when they face the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758
and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 later in the year.
He feels that the time is rife for him to contemplate on what has happened over the last 12 months, and decide on a course of action that his team should adopt over the next 12-24 months.
Clarke also stated that he wanted to have some goals for the team, while focusing on strategies that can be implemented in order to achieve those goals.
"I don't really know how the players feel, I guess they'd be happy because we got the result [in Bangladesh], we won and for me I didn't want to change too many things straight away, it was about coming here, training hard, preparing well
and playing some good cricket on the field. Now I've got this time to assess things, speak to the right people and get some guidance and some help, and assess where we're at."
On the other hand, some of the leading national players like Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 till the end of the next month. These players
though would have time to recover ahead of the series against Sri Lanka, preparation for the tournament starts at the end of July.
Clarke is well aware that his plans revolve around these players who remain the core of the team, and having their support and backing is pivotal to his success at the helm of the team.
He also would be relying on Ponting who has vowed to carry on as a batsman as long as he can sustain his form at the highest level; his relationship with Clarke is healthy at the moment and hopes for more of the same in the months ahead.
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