Australian captain Michael Clarke has backed batsman David Warner to bounce back from a troubled tour of England.
Clarke arrived back in Sydney on Wednesday evening at the end of a campaign which included a 3-0 Test series defeat and a 2-1 victory in the one-day series.
He insisted there was a lot of positives to come out of the tour, including the one-day series win and the improved performance over the last three Tests.
Clarke said it was important the Australians stayed positive and clearly didn’t want to dwell on the negatives when asked how they would go about reversing their Test drubbing in the return series starting in November.
“I don’t think it’s right to go into specifics, we just have to play better cricket more consistently,” Clarke said.
“In patches we played some really good cricket, but over a five-Test series you’ve got to be at your best consistently throughout the whole time and we just didn’t quite do that.”
He emphasised power-hitter Warner remained a vital part of the Australian setup across all three formats despite his problems in England.
Warner was fined and suspended after punching England batsman Joe Root in a nightclub, averaged just 23 over three Tests and was dropped from the one-day squad.
“Davey is certainly a big part of the Australian team, whatever format,” Clarke said.
“Hopefully he’s training his backside off … I’m pretty sure he would be.
“I’ve spoken to him a couple of times on the phone.
“He knows we’ve got a huge summer ahead and when an opportunity comes up again, I’m sure he’ll grab it with both hands.”
Clarke was encouraged by the efforts of paceman Mitchell Johnson, who is firming as a chance to play in the first Test In Brisbane in late November after impressing in the one-day series in England.
“He’s bowling with good pace and swinging the ball, so that was a real positive for the team over in the UK and let’s hope that can continue in India for him,” Clarke said.
Clarke’s back flared up before the final ODI, but he was hopeful he could go to India for the seven-match one-day series starting next month.
He was philosophical about another spate of injuries to Australia’s pacemen, with Ryan Harris, Jackson Bird, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson all sidelined.
“You’ve got young fast bowlers that are playing a lot of cricket, three different forms of the game, It (injuries) is part and parcel of what’s going to happen,” Clarke said.
“I think we’re very lucky that we only have the amount (injured) we have.
“I think our support staff do a fantastic job in looking after the fast bowlers.”