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FULL-STRENGTH Australian squad is gunning to add next month's
Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa to its bulging trophy cabinet,
batsman Michael Clarke said yesterday.
Australia
swept to a third successive victory in the 50-over World Cup in
the Caribbean this year, won the last Champions Trophy and is
ranked the top test side in the world.
Despite
the retirements of stalwarts Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Justin
Langer and Damien Martyn, however, Clarke is confident Ricky Ponting's
team will continue to enjoy success.
"The
selectors have shown confidence in all the players from the World
Cup and hopefully we will take that form into the Twenty20,"
he said.
"We're
all feeling fit and strong and, in such a short amount of overs,
one player can win a game. We have a lot of talent in our squad,
a lot of guys who can win a game on their own," Clarke told
reporters in an ICC conference call from Sydney yesterday.
Brett
Lee returns to lead the attack in place of McGrath in the only
change to the triumphant World Cup squad and the Twenty20 tournament
will be Australia's first assignment under new coach Tim Nielsen,
who has replaced John Buchanan.
"Firstly,
John Buchanan did an unbelievable job, he's a fantastic coach
and I'm certain all the guys are grateful for what he brought
to the table," Clarke said.
"But
Tim Nielsen understands how hard it is to play international cricket
and he knows a lot about the game. He's helped a lot of the guys
already because he's been assistant coach for the last two years."
Clarke
said he was confident Australia could absorb the loss of Warne,
McGrath, Langer and Martyn.
"Some
great players have gone, you can't replace stars like Warne and
McGrath, but there are a lot of players in Australia who will
see it as an opportunity," he said.
The
26-year-old Clarke sees England and South Africa as potential
rivals for the title because of their experience of playing domestic
Twenty20 competitions.
"I
love how fast Twenty20 is, you've got to be fit and willing to
do a lot of running," he said. "It's the same as the
last 10 overs of a one-day international, but you get two helpings
of it."
The
Twenty20 World Cup starts on September 11 with the final on September
24 in Johannesburg.
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