Michael Clarke admits Australia were outplayed by England in the first Test, but have had the “kick up the backside” which should ensure they improve at Lord’s next week.
There were only three Australia half-centuries to England’s six at Cardiff as the hosts prevailed with more than a day to spare, leaving Clarke to rue his team’s frailties but look forward too to their response.
“We have been outplayed in this Test match,” said Clarke. “We’ve got to be better. It’s pretty simple. This gives us a bit of a kick up the backside, and we look forward to the second Test match.”
Clarke is specifically critical of a collective failure – including his own – to consolidate with the bat after getting set.
“I think the shot selection wasn’t as good as it needs to be,” he said. “The fact that we all got starts, especially in our first innings, means we need to have more discipline there. At least one, maybe two of those guys – me in particular – we need to go on and make a big score.”
England’s success here was a stark contrast to their 5-0 trouncing in the last Ashes, down under in 2013/14. There, they never came to terms with the threat posed by Mitchell Johnson – who took 37 wickets.
– Ashes: England win first Test by 169 runs
– SLvPAK: Hafeez shines in Pakistan victory
– BANvSA: Kagiso Rabada takes six on debut
Clarke is calling on his team to adapt better to requirements in English conditions.
“We’ve got to find a way to combat the way England are bowling to us. They’ve got pretty set plans to each individual player. They bowled really well with the conditions they had,” he said.
“We need to improve in all three areas – and I look forward to Lord’s.”
