http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 thoughtful after opening ODI loss at Lord’s - Cricket News Update
Australian Captain, Michael Clarke, has a lot to ponder following his team’s loss in the first One Day International (ODI) against their traditional rivals, England at Lord’s on Friday.
The Aussies came second-best, falling short by 15 runs and handing the lead in the series to the hosts, after the home side gave them a target of 272 runs to chase.
The loss was a big worry for the visiting captain as the tourists slipped from a winning position. Clarke was involved in a 57-run stand for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Matthew-Wade-c1933 which was started to look threatening for the hosts.
At a crucial stage, when the tourists needed just 69 runs off 50 balls, with a well-set captain on the crease and still 5 wickets in hand, the skipper was involved in mixed up between the wickets, resulting in a run-out which sent his partner back to the
pavilion. Adding salt to the injury, the skipper himself got out in the next over - dashing the last hope for an Australian victory.
"That run-out probably played a big part in us not winning the game," http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 said. "If Matthew and I were there at the end we said if we can get there with six overs to go, you never know,” the 31-year-old further added.
The visitors decided to put the hosts to bat after winning the toss and were in a strong position to restrict the hosts at a relatively lesser target when an-Eoin http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Morgan-c77707 led onslaught saw the English scoring a whopping 48 runs from the final four overs,
proving crucial in deciding the result of the match.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DA-Warner-c1301 (56) and Clarke (61) scoring fifties. The Aussie captain knows his areas to improve to make a strong come back in the next match.
“There are areas that are positive for us, the way we started with the ball was really positive, it was a good opportunity for the batters to get a good look at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749 fast bowlers but the areas for us to improve are death bowling and not losing wickets
at important stages," the Australian captain concluded.
Tags: