Clarke hits out at bar claims during MCG Test

MELBOURNE - Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke has rubbished claims of player misbehaviour during the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Witnesses had earlier claimed that Clarke and opener Phillip Hughes had been on a bar hopping spree before the third day of the MCG Test, which Australia eventually went on to lose by an innings.

Twenty-Nine-year-old Clarke insisted that Hughes and he did not mess up, and added that he would never do anything to jeopardise his performances for Australia.

Clarke and Hughes are said to have hit the World Restaurant Bar on the third night of the pivotal Ashes Test, where they enjoyed a meal and a few drinks before they posed for photos with fans, including members of the Barmy Army.

“There’s no doubt Phillip and I went to a restaurant bar, we had dinner there, I had two drinks and didn’t have a late night at all,” Fox Sports quoted Clarke, as saying.

Hughes said he had simply had a couple of beers before hopping in a cab with Clarke and returning home via Crown.

Unsubstantiated claims that appeared in English publication People.com.uk said that the pair were drinking liberally and had celebrated well into the night.

The duo were earlier lambasted by Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland for attending a pre-match breakfast on Boxing Day, yet Cricket Australia had no such problems with them enjoying a drink and dinner midway through a Test match.

“It’s unrealistic to expect people to spend 220 days or more a year eating hotel room service and living their lives as if they’re on a Sunday School picnic,” Cricket Australia’s Peter Young said.

Meanwhile, former Australian Cricketers’ Association president Darren Lehmann has gone into bat for Clarke and Hughes over the breakfast function, saying Sutherland’s comments ‘were off the mark.’

“It was for charity and charities need as much support as they can,” said Lehmann. (ANI)