Australian captain Michael Clarke exuded confidence ahead of the Commonwealth triangular ODI series beginning here with the host taking on India on Sunday.
Clarke said “As the No.1 one-day team in the world, I guess we are the favourites. But we have to play at our best to beat both India and Sri Lanka. They were both in the final of the last World Cup. However, we know the conditions very well in Australia and I'm confident if we play to our potential we can win this series.”
While wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade seems to have grabbed his opportunity with both hands following his performances in the two twenty20 games, the omission of Brad Haddin continues to stir a debate here.
Clarke said, “The team has been picked for the first three games. I think the selectors will watch the first three games carefully before they pick the team for the next group of matches. Hadds (Haddin) just needs to get back to scoring runs and keeping well. There has been a lot of talk about it. I don't think Hadds is concerned about it. He knows what he has to do — put numbers on the board and I'm sure he'll get another chance.”
He defended the squad where the selection of someone like batsman Peter Forrest has come under scrutiny. Clarke said, “I think the guys have been picked on performance, either for the State or for the country. You do need to continue to look forward. It's important especially against these two teams that we play our best cricket and concentrate on what's ahead.”
