Top ranking after Ashes for Clarke
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Michael Clarke says his Australia still has plenty to do if it wants not only to win back the Ashes from England but also to become the world’s top test team.
Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-test series following a 218-run trouncing of England in the second Adelaide test yesterday and is poised to retrieve the Ashes it lost in 2009 should it win the third test in Perth starting on Friday.
The Australians have proved dominant on the usually pacy WACA wicket with victories against England in their last six tests there. England’s only win in Perth came in 1978.
Captain Clarke urged his players to stay grounded as they look for one more victory to seal the series in the remaining three tests in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
“I think we have to be realistic. That’s our second test win the past 12 months and that is not acceptable as an Australian test team so our feet are certainly well and truly cemented on the ground,” he said. “There’s a lot of work for us to do to get back to being the No. 1 team in the world and that’s our goal.”
Australia is currently ranked fifth on the International Cricket Council rankings behind No. 1 South Africa, with England third, and Clarke cautioned against over-expectations in Perth.
“It’s obviously exciting that we’re going to a ground that we feel so comfortable playing at,” he said. “But in saying that I have also experienced some defeats in my career in Perth so I’m more concerned about making sure we play the same brand of cricket that we have played so far in this series.
“The positive is, we know the conditions and guys like Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle love bowling when there is a bit more pace and bounce, but I think the main focus is making sure we play the same brand and we’re as well prepared as we were for this test.”
Clarke described Johnson, who has been man-of-the-match in both test wins, as having the “X-factor”.
Johnson took seven for 40 to destroy England in the first innings and has taken 17 wickets in the series at 12.70.
“He has always been an X-factor, with bat and ball. He’s as good an athlete in the field as you’ll see,” Clarke said.
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