Michael Clarke wants Ponting to score hundred, not Tendulka

All eyes are on Sachin Tendulkar, as he will be aiming to smash his historic 100th ton during the upcoming second Test between Australia and India. However, the Australian skipper, Michael Clarke is wishing for something entirely different, as he backed the veteran Ricky Ponting to hit a century in the second clash at Sydney Cricket Ground, starting from Tuesday. "The way Punter is batting at the moment, he is not far away from a big one. One thing I know about him is if he gets to 100, he won't be stopping there since he's got a very good record at the SCG. I know he loves playing here, so it wouldn't surprise me if he walked out and made a 100 in this Test,'' Clarke said ahead of the 100th Test match in Sydney.

The former Aussie skipper has a wonderful record at the SCG of scoring 1346 runs in 15 games – the most number of runs by any batsman at the venue. Ponting is in good form these days, as he scored half-centuries in both innings of the opening Test at Melbourne. However, the only problem is that he has been failing to convert his fifties into big innings, as his previous Test ton came against Pakistan almost a couple of years ago. While Clarke is pushing his ex-captain to fetch a hundred, he wished the Indian Little Master to score his elusive ton after the ongoing tour Down Under. "I hope his 100 doesn't come until the next series because I'd love to watch it on television. But he's been such a great player and certainly deserves all the credit he's received," added the 30-year-old skipper. The Kangaroos are currently one game up in the four-match Test series. They won the first game comprehensively by 122 runs, and are keen to make it 2-0 at Sydney. The Indian batting line-up failed terribly in the MCG encounter, and Clarke is expecting his bowlers to trouble the tourists yet again. He argued that since the Sydney wicket has something helpful for the bowlers, it will not be an easy outing for Tendulkar and other Indian willow-wielders.

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Australia expected to name new bowling coach this week

Cricket Australia is expected to name its new bowling Coach this week, with Allister de Winter and Craig McDermott among the leading contenders.

The former Australia pacers, Andy Bichel and Jason Gillespie are already out of the race to become Troy Cooley's successor.

It has also been reported that at least one high-profile overseas candidate is still among the short listed candidates.

The 46-year-old McDermott, who was appointed by Cricket Australia as the assistant at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, is supposed to the most fitting replacement for Cooley.

The Queenslander was also given a chance to press his claims to replace Cooley by sending him with the team to Bangladesh last month.

McDermott made his Test debut in December 1984, against West Indies at Melbourne. He went on to play 71 five-dayers before bidding farewell to the Test format in 1996.

His last Test appearance was against Sri Lanka in January 1996. In his 71 Test appearances, McDermott scored 940 runs and picked up 291 wickets.

The right-armer debuted in the One Day International format of cricket in January 1985 and that too against West Indies at the same Melbourne ground.

His last ODI was against Kenya on February 23, 1996. During his 11-year-long ODI career, the former Queensland speedster played 138 One day Internationals picking up 203 wickets at an average of 24.71 and an economy rate of 4.03.

Whilst McDermott is the front-runner for the coveted role, the former Tasmania all-rounder, de Winter, has also made it through the first round of interviews and could be a surprise appointment.

The 43-yaer-old De Winter never played an international game. However he played seven seasons with Tasmania Tigers from 1986 to 1983. He was a fringe player of Tigers and picked up 35 wickets from 21 First-class matches.

He had also coached the Tigers and was part of Cricket Australia's coaching development programme in South Africa in 2009.

Last summer, he mentored the Tasmanian attack and it helped the state a lot as they secured their second Sheffield Shield title.

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Michael Clarke glad that Ricky Ponting and Australian team accept him as a captain

Michael Clarke said that he was happy with the way the former skipper Ricky Ponting and other team-mates accepted him as captain during the recently concluded One-Day tour of Bangladesh.

The tour was Ponting’s first international series under another captain in seven years. During his tenure, he led his side to two consecutive World Cup wins and in his third mega event campaign as a captain, he failed to clinch the title. In the tournament, the Aussies faced an ouster at the hands of India during the quarter-final stage.  As a result, the veteran stepped down from the post, and his deputy Clarke took over the responsibility of the captaincy.

In Clarke’s view, Ponting has still much to offer the Australian team with his batting and experience. The newly appointed skipper also said that Ponting handed over the post to him with a large heart.

"Both of us spoke openly daily, we enjoyed it and I certainly see Ricky playing a big part not only in my captaincy, but the other guys in the team and their development," Clarke said.

Clarke also stated that Ponting did not have the stress of leading the team on his shoulders and can fully concentrate on his batting and helping his team-mates. He has had significant performances in the three-match one-day series against Bangladesh. After 30 years, Ponting is the first Australian skipper, who has continued playing even after standing down from the captaincy.

The Bangladesh series was Clarke’s first as a full-time captain, where he led his side to 3-0 victory over Bangladesh. Almost all the players proved productive under Clarke’s leadership and gave useful performances.

Clarke had earlier led the Australian team 43 times in all formats of cricket, before taking the full-time responsibility as captain. The 30-year-old said that he did not feel any risk at consulting Ponting during matches.

"You're always asking other players for ideas and what their thoughts are on the field. He was there in Bangladesh when I needed him,” said Clarke.

Clarke said that he advised his team-mates to feel free to ask anything or to give ideas in favour of the team. After the Bangladesh tour’s success, the skipper said that he wanted to use the long off-season break to make the Australian team mentally and physically prepared so that they could turn out to be a top ranked team. He also added that he will utilise this time in evaluating his own and the team’s performance for the past 12 months. He also showed his interest in giving ideas to Cricket Australian in their review, which was planned in the wake of the 2010 Ashes defeat.

The Australian team will tour Sri Lanka in August, which includes One-Day matches as well as Tests.

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Michael Clarke plans to partake in the Cricket Australia review committee

Michael Clarke, Australia’s New Test and One-Day skipper is interested in being a part of the review committee for analysing and planning the national team’s performance.

"I'm excited to be home and have a bit of time off, but I'm very keen to get to Melbourne and spend some time with Cricket Australia and the selectors as well," maintained the captain.

Clarke, who arrived in Sydney on Friday, after leading the squad to overpower Bangladesh by 3-0, in a one-dayer that began on 9^th April said he had the support of his men. Majority of the members have stayed back in the Subcontinent to take part in the Indian Premier League.

Speaking of the team’s review, he stated that the upcoming months will witness some serious decision making through consultations, which will then set the net directions for Australian cricket. He wished to offer his experience and wisdom for the development of the squad.

"This is probably the important time for me to spend as much time as I can with the people who make a lot of decisions about our game, and make sure we are on the same page, have the same goals and are heading in the same direction," stated the cricket veteran.

Currently, Australia ranks at the top of the International Cricket Council limited-overs cricket, despite their failure in the World Cup 2011.

“The statistics say we are number one for good reason,” claimed Clarke.

He felt pride in stating that the team has won many one-dayers for a significant period of time. However, he added that more effort was needed to avoid stagnancy and to continue improving.

Clarke noted that Australia will be facing some tough cricket games in the next twelve months. The Aussies will be starring in the test format as well as in one day games. Next year they will perform in the Twenty20 World Cup.

He wholeheartedly praised Shane Watson for reaching the number one position as an all-rounder and ranking fourth in the One Day internationals batting. Clarke added that Watson has totally performed in form over the last 12 to 18 months.

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MICHAEL HUSSEY DETERMINED TO CONTINUE HIS INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Australia’s Michael Hussey has recently stated that he has no intentions to retire from International cricket.

Hussey, who strongly urged the former captain Ricky Ponting to continue playing even after stepping down from the post, said that he will keep on playing for as long as he could, even under the captaincy of Michael Clarke.

"It took me so long just to get one game, I think it took over 10 years, so I want to try to play as many games as I possibly can," Hussey said.

Hussey while talking about the Australian team said that it has nice combination of experienced and talented young players. While favouring the presence of Ponting in the team, Hussey stated that Ponting is one of the world’s best batsmen and a key member of the team.

Hussey commented that he got a tremendous amount of inspiration from the Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who have been giving splendid performances in cricket for the last couple of years.

Tendulkar, the 37-year-old cricketer, holds a number of world records in his long career and still maintains an exceptional batting form. He has also been a vital part of the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011, won by India.

Hussey had two important targets, the first one is the Ashes and the second was the World Cup. Unfortunately he was not included in the recently concluded mega event, but later was called into the squad to replace Doug Bollinger who sustained an injury during the tournament.

"When I was actually able to go over and play in the World Cup, I was quietly quite proud really, because it took a lot of hard work to get myself back into a fit state," Hussey said.

Currently Australian team is playing a three-match One Day International series against Bangladesh. The Aussies are leading the series 2-0, while the third match will be played between the two teams today at Dhaka. In the first match, Hussey scored 33 runs off 51 balls including one four.

After the completion of this tour, Australia will tour Sri Lanka in August. The left-handed batsman said that he has never been to Sri Lanka and that he is ready to give his best for the team and his goal is to put in a good performance on the field.

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