Published: Sep 01, 2014, 12:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 01, 2014, 12:44 PM (IST)
Sep 1, 2014
Australia captain Michael Clarke lamented the absence of all-rounder Steven Smith in the clash against Zimbabwe in the ongoing Triangular Series 2014, as the hosts registered a historic win after 31 years.
“I think our middle order batting certainly missed Steve Smith, he’s a very good player of spin and it was disappointing he wasn’t out there to combat those conditions,” Clarke was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia (CA) official website.
“But that was the way the selectors went [and] I want to take nothing away from Zimbabwe. I think they outplayed us and they certainly deserved to win there,” he added.
Clarke’s comments hinted that recently-appointed Australian selectors – chairman Rodney Marsh and Mark Waugh may not be on the same page with selector on duty Trevor Hohns and coach Darren Lehmann.
Clarke said, “At the end of the day the selectors pick the team and I try and get the best out of the players. That’s all you can do [but] I think we’ve seen through Smithy’s career he’s a pretty good player of spin bowling and he can bowl some handy leg spinners. So I think he would have been handy out there but it means you’ve got to leave someone out as well, so that’s always difficult.
“It’s tough for the selectors to pick what [they] think is the best eleven, fortunately they won’t have to worry about me for the next game. So there’s one they don’t need to worry about,” he added.
Clarke in fact hinted in the pre-match conference with the media that the pitch at the Harare Sports Club might assist the spinners and it was erroneous to leave out Smith.
