Clarke's ultimate dream is Australian captaincy

Sydney, Nov 21(ANI): Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke has said that the captaincy of the Test and ODI teams is his ultimate dream.

Since the retirement of Adam Gilchrist, Clarke has taken over the mantle as Ricky Ponting's vice-captain.

He was the captain of the side in the final two ODI's of Australia's 2008 tour of the West Indies, both of which were won, in the absence of an injured Ponting.

"I could sit here and lie and say I don't think about it. The truth is I hope, I continue to get opportunities, whether it be one-day cricket, now with Twenty20 cricket or hopefully one day I get the chance to captain in Test cricket," The Daily Telegraph quoted Clarke, as saying.

However, he said that captaincy is right now far away and he has absolutely no intention or desire to take over without Punter walking away.

"I am over the moon and stoked I have been given the chance to captain the Twenty20. My leader, still, is Ricky Ponting," he added.

"He is a fantastic captain, a good friend and is someone I have always looked up to. I would love for him to continue to play as long as he wants. If there's an opportunity after Ricky, I would love that - no doubt," he added. (ANI)

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Clarke hopes to tour India

Australia T20 captain Michael Clarke says he has a chance of taking part in the upcoming one-day series in India.

The 28-year-old, who was officially handed the reins of the Twenty20 side on Friday following Ricky Ponting's decision to retire from the game's shortest form, is still recovering from the ongoing back complaint which cut short his ICC Champions Trophy campaign last month.

Clarke resumed light training on Monday and is confident he is on track to return before the conclusion of the seven-match series, which gets under way in Vadodara on October 25 and concludes in Mumbai on November 11.

"It's going okay, I had a bit of a jog this morning which is fantastic," Clarke said of his troublesome lower back.

"It's good to get out of the house and get back into the gym but at the moment I'm having regular physio, I'm going pretty slow and steady to be honest but I'm confident that I can continue building on my progress and try and get right as soon as possible.

"I hope I can get over to India and take part in this one-day series. I'd really like to go there even if it's the last couple of games to help the boys out there and also as preparation leading up to the first Test match (against the West Indies in November) in Brisbane.

"But I'm in a position where I'm not willing to risk coming back too early because I want it to be 100% right before I start doing too much."

Clarke concedes he'll need to continue to manage the injury for the remainder of his career but is confident he won't require radical surgery.

"I certainly haven't considered surgery at this stage," he said.
"I'm seeing a physio who specialises in backs and she's been fantastic and at this stage we're very confident that I'm not going to need surgery."

Meanwhile, Clarke welcomed the challenge of leading the Australian Twenty20 team into the future, conceding it is yet to reach its full potential in the format.
"I'm honoured, it's fantastic for me to get this opportunity and I just want to try and make the most of it," he said.

"I think our performances in Twenty20 cricket have been a little bit inconsistent over the last probably 12 to 24 months and it's an area of our game that we're trying to work hard on."

Asked how he plans to turn Australia's Twenty20 fortunes around, Clarke said: "I definitely think playing as much together as possible is a great start.

"I believe we've got a lot of talent and I think the group of guys that have all played a part in the Twenty20 to date have all got the potential and the talent to play that form of the game.

"Getting to know your team-mates is a huge part of international cricket and unfortunately you get one or two games here and there and then we've got other forms of the game to play.

"But now it's important that we really focus on those individual games and we make sure we're not only getting to know each other but we're giving 100% and trying to win every game we play."

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Clarke appointed Australia T20 captain

Cricket Australia (CA) on Friday announced Michael Clarke's appointment as captain of the Australia Twenty20 team.

This follows Ricky Ponting's decision last month to step down from international Twenty20 cricket and concentrate on captaining Australia in the other two forms of the game.

Victoria's Cameron White will be Clarke's vice-captain in the Australia Twenty20 team.

Michael Clarke said: "I've learnt a lot from Ricky Ponting over the last few years and I'll continue to learn from him. I'd like to thank Cricket Australia and the CA Board for giving me this opportunity. I'm really excited to lead Australia in the newest form of the game.

"We've got a young and enthusiastic group but we must recognise that we've got a lot of work to do in Twenty20 cricket and our recent form hasn't been good. Naturally, we'll target the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean next year and I feel we have plenty of talent to genuinely mount a challenge in that tournament.
"Cameron White will be an excellent deputy and his recent form has been quite outstanding."

Ricky Ponting added: "Michael has continued to grow as a player and a leader. We have developed a strong working relationship and he has always led the team well in my absence. I am sure he will do a very good job with the Twenty20 team and I congratulate him and Cameron White on their appointments."

Separately, Cricket Australia's Board has on Friday re-appointed Andrew Hilditch as the Chairman of the National Selection Panel (NSP) for a period which runs until end of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.

James Sutherland said: "Australia is a team in rebuilding phase but this country has many talented young cricketers, as illustrated by Australia's recent victory in the ICC Champions Trophy. The National Selection Panel will continue to be led by Andrew Hilditch."

Also, former Australian cricketer Christina Matthews was appointed chairperson of the Women's National Selection Panel (WNSP), and Julie Hayes (59 ODIs and six Tests 2000-1 to 2006-7 and 127 WNCL games for NSW) joins the WNSP. Julie Savage continues as a selector on the WNSP.

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