Cricket: Ponting backs Clarke as selector

GALLE: Ricky Ponting has endorsed the move to include Australia captain Michael Clarke in the selection panel, saying it will lead to better communication between the players and the selectors. Ponting claimed that the communication breakdowns that affected players as Australia tumbled down the Test rankings could have been avoided if the captain had been a selector. "Absolutely no doubt in my mind it will be an improvement," he said. "I pushed for it for seven years, for the captain to be a selector, and it's a really positive thing for Australian cricket and certainly for our team."

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2011.