http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 wants the top-order batsmen to raise their game – Cricket News Update
Michael Clarke, the Australian skipper, has admitted that his side was completely outplayed by Pakistan in the second of the three-match One Day International (ODI) series at Abu Dhabi and urged his top-order batsmen to raise their game.
Having lost the initial fixture at Sharjah, the Green Shirts bounced back in style, beating the Kangaroos by seven wickets to level the series 1-1, with the last match scheduled to be played on Monday at Sharjah.
The Aussie top-order has so far failed to deliver the goods in both encounters, with the Pakistani spinners making their lives extremely tough. The likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s
forte over the last couple of years.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 is of the view that the openers must show strength of character in the final ODI if the Baggy Greens are to seal the series. The captain was also critical of himself, believing that he should have converted his starts into big knocks in both the fixtures.
"It's disappointing I think as a top four batter, a big part of your role is to go on and make hundreds, make big scores and I've been as much to blame as anyone," the Aussie skipper feels. "We've got to have a better foundation than what we did today."
Warner, who is usually known for his aggressive stroke-play, managed to score merely 24 runs off 68 balls. Clarke however, was all praise for the home team’s bowlers, who he thinks bowled tremendously well to limit the Australian batsmen.
The 31-year-old cricketer was also impressed with the Pakistani top-order batsmen, who took the game away from the Aussies through a brisk start.
"I think he found it quite difficult to score, and full credit to Pakistan, I thought they played really well today. They bowled really well upfront then they came out and played really well with the bat, so I don't want to take anything away from Pakistan,
they outplayed us," he added.
The last ODI will be followed by three T20 Internationals, before the two teams head to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 2012.
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