Clarke, whose side had a dream tournament, until they ran into England to lose the World Twenty20 final, has had his batting performance criticised but his captaincy praised by the papers. “It is a difficult consideration for selectors because of Clarke’s astute leadership. But he is not holding his place in the Twenty20 team as his batting is proving to be a weakness,” reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
The captain, who managed a total of just 92 runs in the event at an average of 15.33 per innings, also admitted his position would come under scrutiny by the selectors. “There is no doubt selectors will need to have a look at my performances,” said Clarke. “If I’m not the right person as number three and captaincy, then they’ll make that decision.” On the other hand, White, who scored 180 runs at 45, was not thinking about captaincy just yet. “All I can do is make sure I’m doing well and playing my part for the team and supporting Clarke as vice-captain,” said the Victoria captain, who led his side to a domestic Twenty20 championship in Australia. While the Australian media admitted the World Twenty20 final defeat to England “hurts” and hoped it did not foreshadow more pain in this year’s Ashes series against their archrivals, Clarke still has an impressive record as captain.
The loss was Clarke’s first defeat in 15 matches as Twenty20 captain and the right-hander has scored 318 of his 437 runs as the leader of the team.
Published in the Express Tribune, May 19th, 2010.
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