PERTH: Michael Clarke shrugged off suggestions he was at loggerheads with Australia coach Darren Lehmann by telling reporters on Tuesday: “You won’t get headlines out of me”.

In the aftermath of the one-wicket loss to New Zealand at the weekend, Clarke’s observation that Australia had failed to prepare for the swinging ball was seen as thinly-veiled blast at Lehmann for an apparent lack of planning.

But when asked on Tuesday what input Lehmann had provided for Wednesday’s crunch World Cup pool game against Afghanistan in Perth, Australia captain Clarke refused to take the bait.

“We’ve trained really well in preparation for this game. You guys will get no headlines out of me,” said Clarke, who returned to the team for the first time since November for Saturday’s defeat in Auckland, having been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

“‘Boof’ [Lehmann] made it pretty clear to us today that he wants us to stay focused on what’s right in front of us this game, and we’ll worry about Sunday [when Australia face Sri Lanka in Sydney] after tomorrow’s game.”

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2015

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