Melbourne, May 18 (Inditop.com) Australian captain Michael Clarke is in a spot after his team’s loss to England in the World Twenty20 final.
Clarke feels that Australia’s performance will be reviewed after batting performances “haven’t been up to scratch”.
“There is no doubt the selectors will need to have a look at my performances. I certainly know they haven’t been up to scratch and as good as I would’ve expected throughout this whole tournament, and probably Twenty20 cricket in general,” Clarke was quoted as saying by The Age.
“I’m sure the selectors will have a look, and if I’m not the right person for the No. 3 position and the captaincy of this team they’ll make that decision,” he said.
Clarke has been the team’s weakest link with batting, scoring 92 runs at 15.33 in the tournament for a career-total of 437 at 21.85 in 31 matches. But his captaincy has been widely praised.
Sunday’s final was his first loss in 15 matches as Australia’s 20-over skipper.
“I’m stoked to have been given this opportunity to captain the Australian Twenty20 team. There’s no guarantees in this world. For me, it’s about getting back and preparing for our next tournament (one-day series against England in June),” he said.
Clarke, however, received backing from vice-captain Cameron White, who said Clarke deserved credit for his leadership skills.
“What Michael’s done for the team, his leadership and captaincy, has been a great effort. We’ve come a long way. There was a stage when we weren’t considered a very good Twenty20 team. But I think we’ve showed in this tournament that we are,” he said.
Clarke also feels that Australia have taken a big step forward, reaching the World T20 final for the first time at its third attempt.
“It’s not the Ashes. But it’s a big tournament and it’s one that we wanted to do really well in. I just feel very disappointed that we didn’t perform as well as we would have liked today. But I think our guys can hold their heads high. We have played some wonderful Twenty20 cricket,” he said.