Michael Clarke was on Monday retained as skipper of Australia’s Twenty20 squad for July’s series with Pakistan in England despite his below-par batting performances in T20 cricket.
Clarke admitted his place in the team was under threat after a poor run of form continued in a seven-wicket World T20 final loss to England in Barbados earlier this month.
Clarke’s top score was just 27 in the Caribbean tournament and he ended the event with 92 runs at a meagre average of 15.33. “There’s no doubt the selectors will need to have a look at my performances,” Clarke had said after the World T20 final.
“I’m sure the selectors will sit down and have a look and if I’m not the right guy for number three and the captaincy then they’ll make that decision.”
But the selectors on Monday stayed with Clarke as skipper of a 14-man squad to play Pakistan in two T20 internationals at Edgbaston on July 5 and 6.
“We don’t have any doubt that he has a definite role to play in Twenty20 cricket, which predominantly is a little bit different to some,” chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said.
“We’ll be looking for him to bat through an innings when we need it. He didn’t quite do that over there (in the World T20 in the Caribbean) but we weren’t concerned about it.”
“We don’t have any doubts he will be a very successful Twenty20 batsman.”
Wicketkeeper Tim Paine was dropped from Australia’s squad which played in the West Indies.
— AFP