Australia Looks To Ashes After Windies Win

Australia captain Michael Clarke has celebrated a hard-fought 2-0 Test series victory over the West Indies but now turns his attention to the Ashes in 18 months time.

The Aussies continue to improve under Clarke’s leadership with the Windies victory coming following their whitewash of India on home soil during the Australian summer.

Reflecting on the 2-0 victory in the Carribean, Clarke said: “It’s been a wonderful series, a really hard-fought series from both teams and I hope West Indies get a lot of credit for the way they played.

“Yes, the result says 2-0 but O can guarantee you every part of this Test series has been fought hard, played in the right spirit and I think it’s been great for Test cricket so they deserve a lot of credit. We’ve seen some tough battles. As Darren (Lehmann) said we just managed to win the tough battle at times that you need to to win the Test matches.

“It’s the toughest game in the world - five days and you can’t afford to be off for an hour and I think in conditions like this, nice and hot and pretty slow, low wickets it becomes even tougher.”

Since Clarke took up the captaincy on a full-time basis last April, he has claimed nine wins from 14 Tests. That’s an impressive record and good news for the former world number one, who are hoping to win the Ashes in England in 18 months time.

Clarke added: “It’s not just about one series or one summer. It’s about consistency over a period of time that gets you to the No.1 team in the world.

“We want to continue to win as many games of cricket as we can. If we look after that you’ll see the Australian team will continue to go up the rankings.’’