Melbourne, Feb. 6 : Cricket Australia has dismissed concerns that Michael Clarke''s physical altercation with Test team mate Simon Katich will affect his long-term captaincy ambitions.

Katich grabbed vice-captain Clarke by the throat in a heated row following the team''s victory in the Sydney Test against South Africa last month.

The altercation was sparked over the singing of the team song, Beneath The Southern Cross, following the win. It was reported that Clarke wanted the song finished early so he could leave to be with fiancée Lara Bingle.

Melbourne, Feb. 6: Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke's desire to spend as much time as possible with his fiancée Lara Bingle is creating heart burn within the team, and rumor mills are agog with reports of him engaged in scraps with mates over the issue.

Reports suggest that so deep are the fissures within the squad; that questions are now being asked whether Clarke is up to the job of leading the side, a position that he has been wanting for most of his cricketing life.

Karachi, Feb.

Jamaica (West Indies), Feb. 5 : The loss of the England cricket team's captaincy appears not to have dented Kevin Pietersen's form with the bat. KP scored a punishing 97 before falling to Windies spinner Sulieman Benn in the first Test between the two sides.

Pietersen struck Benn for four, four and six in three successive deliveries when he lined up another big blow. This time, however, the ball skied straight up in the air and he was already walking off when it nestled in wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin's gloves.

Pietersen had scored more than half of the runs when he was out, so it is impossible to be too critical.

Karachi, Feb. 5: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which has been facing a huge financial crunch due to lack of international events on its soil, is looking to make huge money from the proposed Australia-Pakistan series.

According to The News, the PCB is hoping to make the Pakistan-Australia series a money churner event, and is expected to generate a whopping Rs 400 million from television rights alone.

Sources privy to the PCB have revealed that the Board will be adding a huge amount to its depleting bank accounts.

The PCB is banking on the fact that there has been virtually no cricket between both the sides for a long time now, and people in Pakistan would be eager to watch the encounter between the World Champions and the home team.

Melbourne, Feb. 5 : Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds will have two months of intense reflection to decide whether he will become the first Australian star to choose Indian Premier League riches over a baggy green cap.

The troubled cricketer, banned from touring South Africa after his latest disciplinary dramas, will be available for Australian selection again at the time the IPL is about to start in April.

Symonds will be 34 this year and, at best, may have 18 months of international cricket ahead of him considering his troublesome knee is causing him increasing problems, reports The Australian.