By IANS
Melbourne : Michael Clarke has warned India’s cricketers that any aggression they employ during the first Test could backfire badly and play into Australia’s hands.
After pacemen Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait waged a mini-selection battle at training, Clarke said any attempt to unsettle Australia with trash talk from Boxing Day could inspire the world champions to greater things at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
“I don’t think verbal aggression will affect any player in the Australian team, we’ve all copped it before,” he said. “You would have seen in the one-dayers in India how when they showed verbal aggression to the Australian players, they reacted pretty well. (Our) guys love that; they sweat on that.”
He said Andrew Symonds is the kind of a person when somebody says something to him, he gets geared up and makes him better. “I think there’s a lot of guys in the team like that, as Steve Waugh was when he played,” he said.
Symonds was the primary focus of India’s verbal aggression in October, but he had the last laugh when named man of the series in Australia’s 4-2 win.
Clarke also has fond memories of playing India, following his ton on debut in Bangalore in 2004, but felt no extra pressure to replicate that, only to live up to his own expectations.”The only pressure that will be put on me is from within and that’s what makes me play better, when I set my goals high and try to achieve great things,” he said.