Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke has flayed his country’s selectors for including young allrounder Cameron Green, who is not in the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, in the opening match of the two-match T20I series against the West Indies, while Steve Smith — who is in the World Cup squad — was not included in the playing XI.
Australia won the opening match against the Caribbean side by three wickets in Gold Coast on Thursday with Green scoring just 14 as opener.
Clarke, a member of the ODI World Cup-winning side in 2007 who later led Australia’s victorious campaign at the 2015 event at home, indicated Cricket Australia’s (CA) selection was going awry ahead of the T20 World Cup at home.
In addition to Smith being dropped, skipper Aaron Finch, who opens the batting, came in to bat at No.4. However, Finch later revealed following his fine half-century in a winning cause that it was his decision to drop down the order so Green could bat at the top.
“My theory is this, Mitch Marsh wasn’t bowling so they had to pick Cameron Green over Steve Smith to give us an extra bowling option but what they’re (selectors) doing is shooting themselves in the foot at the moment,” Clarke was quoted as saying on the Big Sports Breakfast.
“The most important thing right now is we prepare for this World Cup… so Steve Smith’s form in Twenty20 cricket over the last couple of years hasn’t been as good as he would like. He’s got to play. He’s got to play and he’s got to own his role, is he going to bat 4, is he going to bat 3? You’ve got to let him play, so even it if it means you play one bowler short in these games, I still think you’ve got to allow your players to play,” added Clarke.
