AUSTRALIA have arrived in England without Ricky Ponting for the first time in a generation – but they are no less determined to beat their hosts “in their own backyard”. Michael Clarke, successor to the indomitable Ponting as Australia captain in both Tests and one-day internationals, made that statement of intent as the tourists began their preparation for a five-match series in the shorter format.
“It is the game, isn’t it?” Clarke asked rhetorically, on the subject of touring England for the first time without his old captain in tow.
“We all get older unfortunately and there comes a time where you are not selected in teams any longer. Fortunately for us Ricky is still playing Test cricket and is a big part of our Test team – and next time we are here for the Ashes, I’m hoping he will be here with us.”
A clutch of relatively inexperienced batsmen have the chance to prove themselves in the meantime, by lending their 31-year-old captain a hand in the run-making department in a series set to get under way at Lord’s next week.
“He’s been such a great player for such a long period of time. Any team would miss Ricky Ponting, and we are no different,” said Clarke, at a press conference in Leicester where Australia will play their first warm-up match on Thursday before the NatWest Series.
“But after he was dropped from the one-day team, we managed to go on and win that tri-series – and then the boys went to the West Indies and did a good job in pretty tough conditions. We are the number one-ranked team in the world but we haven’t been consistent as we would like as a team – and that’s our goal.”
It would be a fine start to get the better of England.
“We have a lot of talent in our squad and some new faces … and we are looking forward to performing and having some success against England in their own back yard,” added Clarke.
“It looks like they’ve been playing some really good cricket against West Indies, so we are going to have to be at our best.”