Clarke demands Indian whitewash

Updated January 07, 2012 10:11:43

Michael Clarke was in celebration mode on Friday night after the most complete performance of his captaincy so far, but Australia's triple-hundred hero from the second Test is demanding a whitewash of India this summer.

Victory for Australia was probably never in doubt, but Clarke put the icing on his match-winning 329 not out by taking the big wicket of Sachin Tendulkar for 80 in the second innings.

From there the Indian wickets tumbled, and for the second time this series the match was over inside four days.

India managed 400 in its second innings but slumped to an innings and 68-run defeat which guaranteed it cannot win the Border-Gavaskar series.

The demoralised tourists face an uphill battle to salvage a drawn series - with Tests to come in Perth and Adelaide - but Clarke stressed Australia must remain ruthless.

"We want to win the series. Simple as that. We want to win every Test match we play," Clarke said.

"We've won two Test matches - we haven't won the series yet so there's still a lot of work to go in. That starts (on Saturday)."

Clarke has not lost any of the four series he has skippered so far, but the bottom line is he only has one victory to show for it.

Recent draws against South Africa and New Zealand have him desperate to ensure Australia keep the blowtorch on India, starting with the next Test at the WACA Ground in Perth from next Friday.

Australia declared at 4 for 659 in the first innings, but Clarke said the much-improved bowling attack, led by a second-straight five-wicket haul to Ben Hilfenhaus (8 for 157 for the match) deserved most of the credit.

"Our bowlers are having success in completely different conditions," he said.

"When there's a bit in the wicket on day one the boys bowled really well and we managed to get India out for a very cheap score.

"But that wicket out there today is as flat as you'll get and to be able to take 10 wickets I think that's really pleasing for our attack.

"We have wicket-taking bowlers ... and we're able to build up pressure."

Australia's emphatic win was soured when 21-year-old paceman James Pattinson was ruled out for the remainder of the series due to a left foot injury.

Born and bred in Sydney, it is safe to say Clarke will never forget his colossal performance in the 100th Test played at the SCG.

At stumps on Thursday, he was peppered with questions about what it was like to break the ground record score and be the newest member of the exclusive 300-club.

But Clarke was focused on nothing but victory.

The triple ton was the highlight, but with Tendulkar eyeing off his 100th international hundred and in the midst of a slightly worrying 103-run partnership with VVS Laxman (66) after lunch on Friday, Clarke's ability to inject himself into the attack and take the Little Master's wicket was another special moment.

"I'm really stoked with our performance and it's a wonderful feeling to be able to score that many runs in one innings, personally," he said.

"It's the first series I've been full-time captain in Australia in front of my home fans, so it was important I stood up."

AAP

Tags: sport, cricket, sydney-2000, nsw, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted January 07, 2012 10:11:43

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Dravid demands cricket revamp

Updated December 15, 2011 07:38:30

Indian great Rahul Dravid has demanded administrators revamp the ad hoc approach to cricket scheduling or risk being responsible for the game's demise.

Invited to deliver the annual Sir Donald Bradman Oration for 2011 at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Wednesday night, Dravid covered a range of issues but spoke strongly about how all three cricketing formats can be improved and preserved.

Dravid said that international cricket must better appreciate its fans and must recognise that dwindling crowd numbers for Test and ODI matches is a sign that the current approach is broken.

At almost 39, the oldest man currently playing Test cricket described five-day matches as "the gold standard ... the form the players want to play."

He slammed cricketing bodies for the prevalence of meaningless "merry-go-round" tours that in his opinion, mean Test series are often too short and hold no context.

Dravid said if the tradition of five-day cricket is to survive as the pinnacle of the sport, revolutionary concepts like day-night Tests and a Test Championship must be pursued.

"In March of last year I played a day-night first-class game in Abu Dhabi for the MCC - and my experience from that was that day-night Tests is an idea seriously worth exploring," he told a packed audience in the ANZAC room of the Memorial.

"The visibility and durability of the pink cricket ball was not an issue.

"Similarly, a Test championship with every team and player driving themselves to be winners of a sought-after title seems like it would have a context to every game.

"Every Test playing country (should) get its fair share of Tests and playing for a championship or a cup, not just a ranking."

There have been growing calls in cricket circles to scrap the 50-over format altogether, but Dravid said that approach was misguided.

He said one-day cricket was responsible for revolutionising areas of the game like strokeplay and fielding, but many fixtures had been largely pointless since 1995.

Dravid said the regularity in which ODIs are played must be drastically reduced so it returns to being a special event.

"The future may well lie in playing one-day internationals centred around ICC events, like the Champions Trophy and the World Cup. That would ensure that all 50-over matches would build up for those tournaments," he said.

"Anything makes more sense than a seven-match ODI series.

"The fans have sent us a message and we must listen.

"Empty stands do not make for good television. Bad television can lead to a fall in ratings, the fall in ratings will be felt by media planners and (have) advertisers looking elsewhere.

"If that happens, it's hard to see television rights around cricket being as sought after as they have always been in the past 15 years. And where does that leave everyone?

"I'm not trying to be a ... doomsday prophet - that is just how I see it."

Dravid said the overwhelming public support for Twenty20 cricket spoke for itself, but the shortest form should be restricted to "domestic competitions through official leagues which will make it financially attractive for cricketers ... and also keep cricket viable in countries where it fights for space and attention."

Touching on the spot-fixing scandals, Dravid backed Steve Waugh's call for players to willingly submit to lie-detector tests, so the innocent are cleared and the fight against corruption is boosted.

Tags: sport, cricket, canberra-2600, act, australia

First posted December 15, 2011 00:14:20

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