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Clarke to captain Melbourne Stars in Big Bash League

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IANS Melbourne

Newly-appointed Melbourne Stars skipper and current Australia Test captain Michael Clarke on Friday said he is confident he has the game to help bring a first Big Bash League T20 title to the club.

Clarke takes over the captaincy after Cameron White, who left the club to join cross-town rival Melbourne Renegades, with David Hussey to take the reigns when Clarke is on Test duties.

"There's a goal I haven't achieved yet and that's trying to help a team win the BBL and I look forward over the challenge over the next couple of years trying to help the Melbourne Stars," Clarke was quote as saying by cricket.com.au.

 

"I'm really confident. We have a fantastic team and have done for a few years now. I' hopeful I can help contribute and bring a title to the Melbourne Star," he said.

Clarke is yet to play a match in the T20 Big Bash League competition due to his heavy international commitments.

He retired from One-Day-International (ODI) cricket after Australia's successful World Cup campaign and says dropping the 50-over format allows him to concentrate on T20 cricket.

"I think I showed most recently in the World Cup final that I can still play in this format. I've never had the opportunity to focus on the T20 format," Australia's 34-year-old Test skipper said.

"A big part of why I retired from international Twenty20 cricket was so I could focus on just the two formats. For my style of play and my body I needed to concentrate on those two formats to get the best out of myself," Clarke concluded.

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First Published: Apr 17 2015 | 12:44 PM IST

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