Stuart Clark believes Oz bowling attack "a tad vulnerable"

Australian fast-medium bowler Stuart ClarkSydney, Nov.5 : Australia's bowling attack could be "a tad vulnerable" following the retirements of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, but fast-medium bowler Stuart Clark believes the new-look bowling line-up will be quick to forge its own identity.

Clark, who will be playing his tenth Test against Sri Lanka from Thursday, could prove Australia's most vital bowling asset as the world champions embark on the post Warne-McGrath era.

Aware that no side can readily replace a combination that claimed 1271 Test wickets, Clark adopts a pragmatic stance when assessing the prospects of Australia's fledgling bowling combination this summer.

"The public will be very critical and make pretty quick judgments," news.com.au quoted Clark, as saying.

“There'll be a lot of eyes on us in this series. We can't worry about that. It might take a little bit of time, but we're confident we'll be fine,” he added.

"The butterflies have started with the series ahead. Part of that has to do with the fact that we'll be doing it without Warne and McGrath. Obviously you can't replace those guys, but we're pretty confident that we'll be able to cope. We have to be ourselves; come up with our own ways of doing things,” he said.

According to team coach Tim Nielsen, Australia's incoming bowlers should not attempt to fill the shoes of their forebears, but rather make their own impressions on the world stage.

“We've got a great opportunity to begin a new era of Australian cricket in a really positive way. I don't see it as a challenge for the bowlers as much as an opportunity,” he was quoted, as saying.

Clark may resemble McGrath in his metronomic approach to pace bowling; the emerging quick does not possess his predecessor's penchant for intimidatory public statements. (ANI)

People: 
Regions: