CAPTAIN Michael Clarke was not getting carried away over Australia’s chances of regaining the number one Test ranking after their series triumph in the Caribbean, accepting his side still had a long way to go. Clarke bagged a five-wicket haul as Australia concluded their tour with a 75-run win over West Indies in the third and final Test in Dominica to clinch a 2-0 series victory.
Since their tour of South Africa, Australia have lost just one of nine Tests and are now up to third in the Test rankings, but Clarke insisted the number one mantle was still a distant dream.
“We as players don’t consider ourselves as the number one Test team but we know that is a goal we’re working toward,” he said. “It’s not just about one series or one summer – it’s consistency that gets you to be the number one ranking.”
He added: “I think we’re ranked third now, so I still think we’re a way off that. We need a lot of improvement to become the number one team.”
Clarke pinpointed Australia’s last-gasp win over South Africa in the second Test in November – one of his first tours as captain following Ricky Ponting’s resignation – as the turning point leading to their recent run of results.
“To be able to pull off a win in Johannesburg, and we’re talking about a very strong Test cricket team in their own backyard, so to be able to level that series was a great learning curve for us,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed it (the captaincy).
“I’ve been very lucky to have some other great leaders around me as well as wonderful support staff. The captain is only as good as his stock. They put me in a position to be able to take a risk or declare, and that’s only because I have confidence in them.”
Man-of-the-match in Dominica, Matthew Wade, described his first Test experience after replacing wicketkeeper Brad Haddin as a learning curve.
Wade had become accustomed to the unfamiliar conditions by the third Test as he smashed a game-turning 106 with Australia in trouble in their first innings at 169 for seven.
“Probably the all-round experience,” Wade said when asked what he had gained from the tour. “Coming over here in the one-day series and not knowing too much about these conditions and learning a lot in the first three one-dayers and then the Tests.”