Clarke describes appointment as Sydney Test captain as temporary

SYDNEY - Stand-in Australian captain Michael Clarke has said he will refuse to captain a Test side containing Ricky Ponting.

When asked if he would captain Ponting in the Test side if asked to do so by the selectors, Clarke said: “No, I’ve always said from day one Ricky Ponting is my leader, my captain, and I’m certain he’ll be back captaining ASAP.”

“No doubt I’m grateful and honoured for this opportunity, but it is temporary and it’s about doing whatever I can to help this team have success in this Test match,” he added.

The 29-year-old further said he would use lessons learnt from several years under Ponting’s guidance to square the series in Sydney.

“No doubt I’ll take a lot of what I’ve learned from Ricky Ponting as a leader on to the field; I think his leadership has been outstanding. I think I’ll definitely take a lot of his leadership qualities that I’ve learned - I’ve played nearly 70 Test matches with him now,” Clarke said.

“For me the focus is right now on this Test match, and doing as well as we possibly can to try and level the series,” he added.

Australia currently trails the five-match series 2-1. (ANI)