Michael Clarke has arrived home in Sydney stunned at being asked if he fears for his job as Australian cricket captain.
Clarke has averaged just 27.46 in his last 16 innings and managed just 2, 3, 47 and 5 in his four digs during Australia’s 2-0 series loss to Pakistan in the Middle East.
But there has been no suggestion that his leadership is under threat, leaving Clarke bemused when grilled at Sydney Airport on Wednesday morning.
“Um, no, I would hope not,” Clarke said when asked if he was worried about no longer being the man to lead the Test team.
“You know, obviously we didn’t perform as well as we would have liked in this series, but we did pretty well to beat the No.1 team in the world in their own conditions – South Africa – (in March).
“We did pretty well to win the Ashes 5-0. I hope I’m doing the team justice as their leader, as captain.
“But I guess the selectors make that decision and the Cricket Australia board make that decision.
“If they think there’s someone better for the job, if they think my time is up as captain, then I’m sure they’ll let me know.
“But, from my perspective, I feel like I’ve still got a lot to offer the team.
“I think my performances over the past five years have been pretty consistent and I think my captaincy’s been pretty consistent over that period as well.
“So hopefully I’m not judged just on two Test matches.”
While he admits his batting in Australia’s heavy series loss to Pakistan was “unacceptable”, Clarke said it was business as usual ahead of a bumper Australian summer beginning with a five-match one-day series against South Africa starting on Friday week.
“I’ll be at the physio this afternoon. I’ll be training tomorrow morning. I’m keen to make some runs,” he said.
“In a week’s time, we’ve got a really important one-day series against South Africa so I see that as a positive; there’s a quick turnaround. We’re back on the field shortly.
“I know it’s a different format but Australian cricket winning in any format of the game is what’s important.
“As disappointed as I am, I think we need to put two Test matches into perspective.
“We’ve had a pretty good 12 months as a Test-playing team.
“If anything, this gives you more hunger to be successful.”
