Clarke hits back at Gillespie’s Jibe

Australia’s skipper, Michael Clarke, has cleared the statements issued by former Australian pace gem, Jason Gillespie. He told the reporters his team is pretty confident to prove Gillespie wrong and break the shackles by registering an Ashes win in England after 14 years. Clarke told reporters on Sunday, “Jason’s entitled to his opinion. Join the queue. I’ve copped criticism my whole career. There’s a long list of people who’ve criticised this team. We might just add ‘Dizzy’ (Gillespie) to that list of people we continue to prove wrong.”

Jason Gillespie, who is at present, the coach of English county champions Yorkshire, had claimed that the current test squad of Australia is comprised of quite a few young players and more of oldies. Looking into the matter, it seems that the old pacer was quite correct with his claim as the team is having Chris Rogers and Brad Haddin, both 37-year-old. Also, there is Ryan Harris, who is 35-year-old and is having a career studded with injuries. At the top, the skipper himself is 34-year-old and is battling an old back problem.

Jason had said in an interview that, “They’re Dad’s Army. I’d be thinking ‘let’s keep them out in the field. Let’s get them tired, they’re old blokes. We (England) can put these guys under pressure,” TO the contrary, Michael Clarke said that he is having a firmly balanced side with ample experience, talent and aggression. He talked players like Steven Smith, David Warner and Nathan Lyon who are performing brilliantly.

Clarke said, “A lot of our young players have come a long way over the last few years. The senior players deserve a lot of credit for mentoring them and helping them through the tough times, and we’re seeing a lot of benefit from that. They will play a big role in this series, their youth and enthusiasm is vital to our squad. The experience of the senior players is crucial too and hopefully we can find that perfect mix and we’re able to have success.”