Clarke promises a better display by Aussies in Abu Dhabi

Joy Chakravarty 07:32 27/10/2014
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  • Disappointed: Michael Clarke.

    Australian captain Michael Clarke is confident his side will come out all guns blazing in the second Test match in Abu Dhabi and square the series.

    Speaking to the media after their 221-run loss in the first Test in Dubai yesterday, Clarke said his team would take a lot of heart from the resolute batting performances of Mitchell Johnson and Steve Smith.

    “I’m obviously very disap­pointed with the result, but really impressed with the way Steve and Mitch in particular showed a lot of grit today and fought their backside off,” said Clarke.

    “That’s part of the Australian way. We certainly weren’t going to turn up here today and throw our wickets away. Any time we lose a game, it breeds fire in your belly. We don’t like losing.

    “We’ve got a couple of days now to prepare as well as we can and we’ll look forward to that second Test match.

    “We got outplayed and Pakistan deserve a lot of credit for the way they played.

    “But we know we can play a lot better and we look forward to show­ing that in Abu Dhabi.”

    Clarke said the main difference between the way Johnson and Smith played and the other Austral­ian batsmen was that they managed to get a start and build up on it.

    “What they did different was they got past the first 20 balls,” said Clarke.

    “I think you have a look at Doo­lan, Clarke, Lyon, Haddin, Marsh… I don’t think any of us faced more than 20-25 balls, did we?

    “So it’s probably a fair indication that in these conditions, it’s really hard to start your innings.

    “The longer you bat, the more time you spend there, the easier it gets.

    “I think Younis (Khan) was a good example of that, the way he played in both innings.

    “He took his time early and gave himself a chance. Once he was in, he capitalised on that,” he added.

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