CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) – Eager to improve on their international Twenty20 record to match that of their Tests and 50-over status, Australia captain Michael Clarke says his side’s win over title-holders Pakistan was important. Playing in their first match of the World Twenty20 Championship on Sunday, the Test and one-day champions pulled off an emphatic 34-run victory over Pakistan to take a giant stride towards the second round.
“It was a very good start from the boys. Obviously our batting set the game up for us getting 191,” Clarke said.
“Our bowlers did a great job up front in the first six overs. Then we caught well in the field. The boys played pretty well.”
Clarke pointed out that Australia were keen to improve their Twenty20 form, especially after crashing out of last year’s tournament in the first round.
He said that acclimatising to the Caribbean would be crucial if his side were to produce a winning run in the tournament.
“Our form has improved over the past 12 months and we have started this tournament very well. The key will be to adapting to conditions and we have a really good squad to do just that,” Clarke noted.
Australia will play their second match against Bangladesh in Barbados tomorrow and Clarke said he was unsure about the composition of the squad for that match but hinted it could change from the Pakistan fixture.
“I have said from the start that only 11 guys can take the field but there are four other guys fit and looking for opportunities,” the skipper pointed out.
“We (are) all looking to Bangladesh (now). We were fully focused on Pakistan over the past few days. We will assess our team as we go along.”