Waugh backs Clarke to let his cricket skills do the talking as captain
March 21st, 2010 - 1:01 pm ICT by ANI
New Delhi, Mar 21(ANI): Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh has said that vice-captain Michael Clarke’s decision to leave New Zealand mid-tour to deal with his relationship troubles does not place a question mark over his ability to captain Australia in future.
“It’s a personal matter. I think all captains have had [personal] issues they’ve needed to deal with. You look at Ricky [Ponting] when he was in the Australian side he had the personal issue when he was at Kings Cross and he gained a black eye [from a doorman], yet he went from strength to strength afterwards,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Waugh, as saying.
“You need to lead a normal life as well. I think Michael will show what kind of leader he is by the way he plays his cricket. He’s done very well as captain for Australia in the Twenty20 and also the [some] one-dayers and I don’t think it should affect his Test captaincy chances one little bit,” he added.
Waugh further denied suggestions that Clarke’s recent break-up with fiancée Lara Bingle highlights the pressure the team’s schedule is placing the players and their partners under.
“I don’t think it’s a scheduling issue. I think the way of the world now is cricketers are high profile and when you have a high-profile partner, all of a sudden it can be hard,” Waugh said.
“I think ever since David Beckham and Posh [Victoria], every country has wanted their own version of Posh and Becks. Unfortunately someone has to carry that mantle and [in Australia] it was Michael and Lara, and I don’t think they understood how big it was going to get and the burden it [the public interest] was going to become,” he added.
He emphasized that high-profile relations have their benefits, but there are down sides as well, as public scrutiny becomes a part. (ANI)
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- Tubby backs Clarke as leader for Australian cricket's new era - Nov 07, 2010
- Taylor praises Clarke for putting team ahead of personal milestones - Jan 05, 2012
- Waugh's Ashes warning to under-performing senior Oz stars - Oct 29, 2010
- Ashes review is a great thing for Australian cricket: Hilditch - Mar 20, 2011
- Unfair if Clarke's captaincy aspirations harmed by personal reasons: Waugh - Mar 11, 2010
- Ponting shouldn't be in Oz dressing room: Ian Chappell - Jan 04, 2011
- Select Ponting on merit, not stature, says Mark Waugh - Nov 30, 2011
- Cowan appeals to ICC for mandatory use of DRS - Dec 26, 2011
- Clarke will smash doubts over his leadership credentials: Nielsen - Dec 31, 2010
- Clarke vows not to repeat 'mistakes' when India tours Australia - Jun 11, 2011
- Ponting's best is yet to come, says 'waiting-in-the-wings' skipper Clarke - Sep 25, 2010
- Clarke still confident in spite of Australia's new underdog status - Jan 09, 2011
Tags: captain australia, captain michael, david beckham, doorman, kings cross, lara bingle, michael clarke, personal issue, personal issues, personal matter, ponting, public scrutiny, question mark, relationship troubles, steve waugh, strength to strength, sydney morning herald, twenty20, vice captain, way of the world