Michael Clarke will attempt to raise his game at the World Twenty20 but don’t expect him to rain sixes over the small grounds in the West Indies
Peter English23-Apr-2010Michael Clarke will attempt to raise his game at the ICC World Twenty20 but don’t expect him to rain sixes over the small grounds in the West Indies. Clarke, who left Sydney with his squad on Friday, is less suited to the shorter format than his big-hitting team-mates and is more comfortable with along-the-grass play.He wouldn’t be captain if the selectors didn’t believe he was capable of regular heavy contributions and he showed he could lift the pace with 67 off 45 balls when Australia chased 214 in Christchurch in February. While he has a modest strike-rate of 108.83 in 24 matches, he won’t be over-hauling his tactics.”I think I can probably still take it up a notch but I think that’s the way I play,” he said of placing his strokes instead of powering them. “I can guarantee I won’t be the type of guy who goes out there and tries to smack the first ball out of the park. I know I won’t be successful like that, so for me it’s important to play my way: to play cricket shots, to use my strengths, my speed, my running between wickets, my energy in the field, and then if I have to bowl.”With the squad we have there are so many guys who can walk out there and hit it out of the park. We’ve got a lot of those players so I don’t think I have to do that.”Australia have two warm-up games in St Lucia next week before starting their tournament against Pakistan on May 2. Last year Australia were knocked out of the World Twenty20 in the opening round and the side has undergone some significant changes, including the retirement of Ricky Ponting and the elevation of Cameron White to the vice-captaincy.Clarke sees some good signs in his outfit, half of which spent the past week in Brisbane fine-tuning while the other members were in the IPL. “I’ve said for a while that Twenty20 is a form of the game that we are improving in, but we haven’t been as successful as we’d like and this is a great opportunity on a big stage to show our colours,” he said.Australia now have a specialist outfit that includes David Warner, David Hussey, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes, who are currently not in the 50-over side. In the early stages the format was treated as a bit of fun, but the support from the crowds and the huge money available to successful short-form players has helped alter the thinking.The Australians always talk about winning every tournament they enter and Clarke is convinced his team-mates have the right credentials. “There are no guarantees in this game, but with the talent we have in this squad I don’t see any reason why we can’t be as successful as we have been in one-day and Test cricket,” he said. The final is in Barbados on May 16.Despite being in charge of Australia in eight T20 games, Clarke admits he is still asking for advice about the format. He has kept in regular contact with his team-mates in the IPL to gain the latest thinking on tactics.”It’s important for me to get over there and learn as I go,” he said. “Conditions are going to be a lot different to what the guys have been playing on in India and what we played in recently in New Zealand. It’s important that we adapt as soon as possible and make sure we’re ready to go in the first game.”