Michael Clarke cannot explain poor Australia form in Ashes
Saturday 1 August 2015 10:58, UK
Australia captain Michael Clarke admits he cannot explain his team’s poor performance in the third Investec Ashes Test, which England won by eight wickets.
Of particular concern to Clarke is his own form – he had two more failures at Edgbaston, scoring 10 and three – and the captain was left with plenty to think about with his team 2-1 down with two Tests to play.
England easily chased down a target of 121 to win after dismissing Australia for 136 and 265.
"It’s very hard to explain to be honest," he told Sky Sports Ashes. "Credit has to go to England. I thought they came out and bowled really well on day one.
"We probably didn’t bat anywhere near where we’d like. But they probably deserve a lot of credit."
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Clarke's decision to choose to bat on the greenest pitch of the series so far backfired but he insisted he would do the same again.
"I still would have batted first," Clarke added. "I think you can see now the wicket has deteriorated a little bit. You just hope the game would have gone deep into day four, day five. But that wasn’t the case.
"There was a little bit of swing – I think it swung and seamed a little bit all the way through the game. We probably had the best of the batting conditions.
"On that first morning we had plenty of sunshine throughout. Then when we had that chance to bowl in the afternoon it was really overcast. We didn’t execute with bat or with ball.
"I think [a target] of 180, 200 would have given us a chance. But again, the way England batted, they were only two down."
Australia’s top three of Chris Rogers, David Warner and Steve Smith have all contributed in the series so far, but No 4 Clarke, No 5 Adam Voges, and No 6 Mitchell Marsh have been struggling to make an impact. They mustered just 35 runs between them in the whole Test.
Asked if he was worried about the middle order, Clarke said: "The form at No 4 certainly concerns me! We’re playing with 10 players. The captain is due to step off the plane and turn up. That’s the plan for the next Test.
"We’ve all got to contribute. We’ve all got to score runs as a batting unit. And we’ve got to find a way to take 20 wickets. The bowling has been one of our greatest strengths over the last four months. We’ve got to make sure we are scoring runs consistently."
Clarke has scored just 94 runs in the series and admits he is not quite sure what is going wrong.
"No, not really. The work is there," Clarke said. "For me it’s all about preparation. If I’m doing that hard work, then that will give me the self-belief to go out and score runs. That’s been the formula throughout my career.
"Again, England deserve credit. They’ve bowled well to me, got me out early and I haven’t been able to settle. I’ve got to find a way to turn that around in the next Test."
There has been suggestions that he might move down to No 5 for the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.
"My record is better at No 4," Clarke added. "But what’s important is what is best for the team. If it’s better to bat at No 4 for the team, then I’ll go there. If it’s better at No 5, I’ll go there."
England’s attack leader James Anderson has been ruled out of the Nottingham showdown by injury, and Clarke admits that is good news for the Aussies.
"You don’t wish injury on anybody. Jimmy showed his class in the first innings in this game," said Clarke. "You don’t want to play against a weaker team.
"But that’s the way it goes. Someone else gets an opportunity for England. I’m sure they will do exceptionally well. But we have to take confidence from that. His record at Notts is very good. Maybe that could be like 2005 when Glenn McGrath went down…”
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