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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

March 20, 2015

Michael Clarke

ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Q. Michael, first of all, how did you rate that spell of fastbowling from Wahab Riaz?
MICHAEL CLARKE: That's as good as I've faced in One Day cricket for a long time. There's no doubt about it. Probably gave us a good look at what it would have been like to face Mitchell Johnson throughout the Ashes. Left arm is always extra tough for a right-handed batsman because the angle of the ball is at your body the whole time. He didn't bowl too many bouncers that weren't on the money. Yeah, obviously credit to Watto, the way he hung in there. Obviously he had a bit of luck getting dropped at fine leg, but then the way he was able to get through that period and be there at the end shows obviously his experience and he deserves a lot of credit for that. If they take that catch at fine leg, who knows what could have happened. Would have been a lot tighter, that's for sure.

Q. How much, having I guess stood up to a test of that intensity, how much does that bring confidence to the team for what you've got ahead of you now?
MICHAEL CLARKE: Well, the fact that we've won I think gives us a lot of confidence. And I think, like I've said in past press conferences, since the New Zealand game, I think we've slowly been building and our cricket has slowly been improving. Every win gives you momentum and gives you confidence, and this will certainly be exactly the same. I think obviously India are a completely different opposition to Pakistan. They have different strengths. Also different weaknesses, as well. So we need to assess them. I think they're obviously playing a lot better than they were throughout the start of the summer, and I said that leading into the World Cup, that I thought India were going to be extremely tough team to beat just because -- well, obviously because they're a very good team, but because they've spent so much time in Australia, as well, they know the conditions quite well. The game on Thursday is going to certainly be a challenge, and we -- I say it all the time, but we're definitely going to have to be at our best to beat them.

Q. And I suppose, again, the spell in particular, but also I suppose Misbah's tactical approach as a captain with the sort of fastbowling that he had, an interesting experience for the Aussie team to have that up against you when you've been dishing it out for the previous 12 months or so?
MICHAEL CLARKE: Yeah, I think the experience -- just about every country has got one, two, three good fastbowlers in their teams, in all formats. Yeah, there's certainly times throughout your innings you have to get through. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. That's why I say, credit to the way Watto found a way to see that spell off and get us home tonight. I thought him and Steve Smith played really well.

Q. Just on Watson's innings, again, did you feel it showed a lot of character, and also in World Cups how important experience is in those big moments?
MICHAEL CLARKE: Well, I've said for a long time that a good mix of youth and experience in any sport at the highest level generally has the most success. I think we've got that through our squad. Yeah, and I think Watto showed that today. Like I say, he had some luck getting dropped at fine leg, but then to be able to find a way to tough that out and then capitalise more importantly once he got through that spell, played his natural game, hit the ball really well. So yeah, I think his experience certainly helped him today.

Q. How concerning is the loss of early wickets like that? It hasn't happened in every match, but a couple of occasions. Are you worried about --
MICHAEL CLARKE: No, not at all. I think that's the way the game goes. Two brand new white balls in the One Day format now, there's always more risk, and we've got two pretty positive players up front in Finch and Warner that they're going to play their shots. That's their natural game. That's the way we like them to play. And thankfully we've got plenty of depth with our batting, so it was nice to see the boys finish it off there tonight.

Q. Michael, given the way you have outplayed India coming into the World Cup, you should be happy running into them once again right now, but that's not the case; it's suddenly looking like a different team with all kinds of danger. What do you think is the turnaround in this Indian team?
MICHAEL CLARKE: I think that's the main factor, that they've worked out conditions and they've spent so much time here. I think MS Dhoni deserves a lot of credit the way he's been able to turn things around as the leader, as the captain. They're playing some really good cricket, there's no doubt about it. We look forward to that challenge. We've got some time now to recover and make sure we're fresh and then obviously train and prepare. Our attitude will be exactly the same as it was leading up to this game. Thursday becomes our World Cup final. We look forward to it.

Q. Misbah said before that he thought that India at the SCG might be a tougher proposition than playing them anywhere else because of their spinners and he didn't think you had a frontline spinner as such. Did you find the game there recently was a spinning type deck and does that concern you?
MICHAEL CLARKE: I don't think a ball spun in the game we played against Sri Lanka. I think it'll depend on what wicket gets prepared. The game that was played there recently looked like it had a bit of grass on it, so that'll certainly help our fastbowlers if the wicket is like that. If it does spin, we've got spinning options in our squad, so I'm sure the selectors will assess that once we get to the Sydney Cricket Ground and work out what they think is the best 11, and I've got confidence that whatever 11 is selected, we play our best cricket, we give ourselves every chance of winning that game in whatever conditions.

Q. 213 all out on a wicket which at least from the pressbox seemed to be a good one for batting. Were you expecting Pakistan to crumble like this?
MICHAEL CLARKE: I think the Australian bowlers deserve a lot of credit. I think obviously Josh getting his opportunity and picking up four important wickets, Starcky, Mitchell Johnson, Faulkner, Watson, and Maxwell, I thought they all did a really good job for us, so I don't want to take credit away from them. And again, I thought the wicket was really good. I said at the start of the game that fastbowling was definitely going to play a part. Pakistan take that catch off Shane Watson at fine leg, then who knows, 215 might have been enough. There's always that pressure in finals. Whatever you have to chase, runs on the board make a big difference, and fortunately we were able to make those runs tonight.

Q. You have already made the semifinals, playing in Sydney, and you don't have any quality spinners. Do you think you'll go there with the handicap of the spinners against India?
MICHAEL CLARKE: I hope not. I think -- we obviously didn't pick Xavier Doherty today, but I think he's been a really good spinner for the Australian team over the last few years, so if the wicket does spin, I think the selectors have that option. Obviously you've got Glenn Maxwell, who bowled tonight and picked up a couple of wickets. Hopefully I can bowl a few overs, and we've got Steve Smith, as well. I think we've got spinning options, but we'll wait and see what the pitch is like.

Q. You are satisfied with you spinning options?
MICHAEL CLARKE: I am extremely satisfied.

Q. Pat earlier in the week talked about his thoughts, having a lot of express pace bowlers really helped for something like the middle overs to bring someone like a Mitch Johnson back. He did that again today. So even though he's not taking the new ball, getting that breakthrough today in the middle overs, does that show the value that he can have at the moment?
MICHAEL CLARKE: Oh, there's no doubt, Mitch always brings value to any team he plays in. I think it shows how great a team man he is, that he's not concerned at all about taking the new ball. If he gets it, he looks forward to it. If he doesn't, he's not bothered. He can bowl first change. Mitch has always been that type of guy and that type of player that will put the team first, and it shows his skill, though, that even when the ball is not swinging he can find a way to take wickets, the fact that he's still bowling high 140s, still loves his bouncer as much as anyone, I think they're two very good weapons to have, and we'll need every weapon we've got against India on Thursday.

Q. Two Pakistani players are retiring from One Day cricket. Would you like to comment on their contribution, and is there anything you want to say about their careers?
MICHAEL CLARKE: Oh, look, I think they've both been fantastic. Obviously two experienced players, great ambassadors of the game. I think Misbah has obviously led Pakistan extremely well, and they've been really successful under his leadership in the shortest format. And what can you say about Boom-Boom Afridi? He's one of a kind, that's for sure. He's an entertainer. I've loved playing against both of them. We've certainly had some tough challenges. I think Australia in general always enjoys the tough contests against Pakistan, and I think tonight you've seen another great contest. Fortunately we were able to get over the line tonight, but credit to Misbah and his team and how they played tonight, how they fought. We had to fight for every run to chase that 215, and I wish them both well in the future. They've done a lot for the game of cricket, and they're two very nice men. I congratulate them on behalf of the whole Australian team, and I wish them well.

Q. In the Bilateral Series or even the Tri-Series when England was here, India kept playing you and kept losing, so mentally they were down, but in a tournament like this one, they got to play weaker teams and they got to make that comeback. Do you think that helped India more rather than just playing Australia time and again and losing?
MICHAEL CLARKE: I have absolutely no idea. Winning helps, yeah. So winning is better than losing, so yeah, I'll say that helped. I don't really know the answer to your question. I'm sorry.

Q. What made you get Glenn Maxwell back into the attack? Just two overs after Faulkner bowled, I thought it was a brave decision to get Maxwell back. Can you just tell us what you had in your mind when you got him back into the attack?
MICHAEL CLARKE: I guess there's obviously always risk there, especially with Misbah, because he was hitting the ball well and I was pretty sure he was going to try and continue to hit Maxwell for 60. The only thing that did cross my mind, the over before I thought the breeze picked up a little bit more coming across the ground, so I thought if he was to mistime it, hitting into that breeze there was a chance that we could get that wicket, and I think with captaincy, it's risk versus reward. Sometimes you take that risk and it doesn't pay off. Other times you take it and it does pay off. Fortunately tonight it did, but I'm sure there will be plenty of occasions where Misbah takes that over for 25, and I think, what have I done. But that's the risk you take as captain.
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