Rested Australian captain Michael Clarke has slammed former skipper Ricky Ponting over his references to Clarke in his explosive autobiography, saying that this is the first time he got to know that Ponting had a problem with him.
Ponting's book has been the talk of the sporting world since its release, specifically its claims regarding Clarke and the suggestion that his high-profile relationship with his former girlfriend Lara Bingle put him at odds with the team and placed him in a 'different world' than the rest of his teammates.
According to News.com.au, Ponting also criticised Clarke for not 'sticking around for a chat and a laugh and a post-mortem on the day's play' or that, as vice-captain he never volunteered to 'to take on any of the captain's workload'.
However, Clarke said that he was stunned that Ponting made no attempt to talk about any of these issues for the eight years he was captain or even prior to the book going to print, saying that even though everyone is entitled to their opinions, he felt that if Ponting had a problem with him during his captainship, he should have approached him at the time.
Clarke denied that he had been confronted by Ponting over the book's claims, although he added that he will continue to be loyal to Ponting like he has been doing so since the beginning.
Clarke also said that he does not know whether he would write a rebuttal autobiography of his own.