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Sydney, Mar.30 (ANI): Pressure mounts on Michael Clarke who has been appointed as the Australian cricket team’s captain after Ricky Ponting bowed to pressure and quit the captaincy, following the team’s early dismissal from the World Cup, under his leadership.

Andrew Stevenson, a senior writer with the Sydney Morning Herald said: ” Clarke should set his sights high as he embarks on his “life-changing experience” as Australia’s 43rd Test cricket captain,” adding that there will be a lot of pressure on him to make his team the best, especially after being a part of Ponting’s team which won a record 16th straight Test victory against India in Sydney, three years ago.

Stevenson says that Ponting had led his team confidently, knowing that he could change the course of any match with his keen observation skills and steel will, adding that Clarke was not cut from the same cloth.

He said: “As a batsman he’s (Clarke) been a helper rather than a leader, a player able to add to the cause rather than change the course of a match. When all hope appears lost would you get down on your knees and pray for Clarke to bat for your life or the country’s honour?”

Stevenson also said that that while Clarke’s career figures are sound he has rarely been able to impose himself on an opposition or a series, adding that the pressure on him will become much more relentless with the captain’s responsibilities added to his kitbag.

According to Stevenson, Clarke’s first challenge will be to make the demoralized Australian team perform better than they ever have.
Stevenson says: ” Clarke, 29, appears to thrive on the leadership role. He is an inventive and creative on-field captain, an astute tactician and sound man manager who speaks the language of the new generation of cricketers upon which his - and Australia’s future - will inevitably depend.” (ANI)