Clarke says Australia’s No.5 Test ranking ‘in his mind but not his focus’

Saturday, 10 September 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Kandy, (ANI): Australian captain Michael Clarke has said that while he hates the fact that his team stands at the fifth position in the global Test rankings, he is not making it a major part of his focus.

“I hate the fact we sit at No.5 in Test cricket and I love the fact we sit at No.1 in one-day cricket,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Clarke, as saying.

“It is in my mind but it’s not my focus,” he added.

Clarke acknowledged that there would be ups and downs, and said that Australia just needs “to try and get better and become a more consistent team so we’re winning consistently.”

“There’s going to be challenges. We’ve got Sri Lanka now, we’ve got South Africa in South Africa, India in Australia, we’ve got some really tough Test cricket ahead of us, no doubt,” he observed.

If Australia wins this week’s second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy, it would not only take an unbeatable lead in the three-match series, but also climb onto the No. 4 spot on the world rankings.

“I would love to win this series and go to No.4 because it’s a great result for the hard work we’ve put in but the main focus is whether we’re improving, getting better every time,” Clarke said.