The Australians endured an incredibly easy tour of the Caribbean, as the visitors thrashed the West Indians by 277 runs in Kingston. The Aussies whitewashed the hosts, to win the series 2-0, and continued their dominance over the Calypso Kings in test cricket. Skipper Michael Clarke was simply ecstatic about his team’s performance in the Caribbean and lavished praises on his side. However, the topic of discussion was the rivalry against England, which is set to resume in the upcoming Ashes. Clarke admitted that for the tour of the West Indies, a certain “restriction order” was placed on the players which prohibited them from discussing about the Ashes.
A relieved and elated Clarke said after the win in Kingston, “I think I’m allowed to talk about it now,” said Clarke, admitting there would be an extra buzz about boarding the flight to London Gatwick. “Credit to the boys, I was really honest with the boys and made it very clear I didn’t want it spoken about at all throughout this series and I’m extremely thankful and proud that none of the guys have spoken about it. “I’d be lying to say it hasn’t been in the back of everyone’s mind, but the fact we’ve been really disciplined on playing really good cricket in these conditions against this West Indies team is a really good achievement from the boys. We’re all excited about what lies ahead. I’ve spoken a lot about consistency away from home, I just hope this is the start of it,” said Clarke.
Clarke was clear that the Australians in no way would be underestimating the English. “We’ll look forward to that,” he said. “How they play will not be a surprise to me. I’m expecting them to be extremely tough to beat. They’ve got a very good bowling attack, they’ve got some experience with their batting and some batters in form. They might come hard at us. Whatever they throw up we’ll be prepared. We’ve got some really good time now to make sure we’re 100 per cent prepared before we walk out onto that field in that first Test match. That’ll be our No.1 focus. Over the last couple of years preparation has been the most important part of our game, and this will be no different. We’ll be really excited by the time that first Test comes around,” said the Australian test captain.
Clarke concluded by saying that he was happy for his once New South Wales coach Trevor Bayliss, who was recently appointed as England’s head coach. “I’m happy for TB,” Clarke said. “That’s the way cricket’s gone now, you see players playing all over the world and coaches coaching all over the world. TB will do a fantastic job for England. He coached Sri Lanka when we played against Sri Lanka so there will be no real surprises. Both teams know each other really well. Individually you know what you’re up against, you know how tough it is, and fortunately we’ve got players who’ve spent a lot of time in the UK so we know conditions as well. But we have to understand and respect we’ve got to be at our best to continue to have success at home and also away from home.”
“He’s a good man TB and a very good coach. He’s a good man manager, he tries to get the best out of each individual, he’s a pretty relaxed sort of guy. He’ll allow guys to do as they please, so he’ll do a wonderful job for England.”