By IANS,
Sydney : Injured fast bowler Stuart Clark feels that Australia will recover quickly from their home series loss to the South Africa.
“I see things turning around very quickly. It hasn’t been the most ideal series. But at the same time, a couple of losses, as we saw with the Ashes in ’05, is the start of something new. After those losses in the Ashes in ’05, we won 16 straight Tests,” Clark was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Clark has been sidelined with an elbow injury and underwent a surgery a little more than a fortnight ago and hopes to begin bowling again next week. Without Clark, and with Brett Lee struggling, the weaknesses in Australia’s bowling attack in the post McGrath-Warne era have been magnified. Lee also underwent a surgery on his left ankle Saturday.
The 33-year-old Clark emerged from the 2005 Ashes loss of 2005, debuting in South Africa and taking 20 wickets in a 3-0 whitewash.
The absence of Clark, and now Lee, has given Doug Bollinger and Peter Siddle the opportunity to play Test cricket, and handed Mitchell Johnson spearhead status, which he has taken with relish.
Clark backed the new bowlers and hoped that Australian bowling attack will shape up well for tours of South Africa and England.
“It’s good that they’re playing, it’s good they’re getting experience, and it’s good that they’re doing well. Experience is the thing that you can’t buy in state cricket. It’s the intensity … you need to get that experience, play the game in front of that sort of pressure. It’s invaluable,” he said.
Clark felt that the new bowlers were not lucky despite working hard with lack of experience.
“I think we’re in good stead for the Ashes. We’ve got a good team, results haven’t gone our way the last two matches, but I still think that we’ve got a good blend of youth and experience, and that’s important because it’ll be a very tough series. I wouldn’t say it’s a demise at all,” he said.
“We’ve gone through a bit of a learning curve, and there’s obviously been a transition … but we don’t consider it to be the end of the generation or the demise, we consider it to be an opportunity to come in and do something very special, and become the future greats of the game.”