Clarke slams Australia’s nice-guy attitude

Former captain Michael Clarke has warned Justin Langer’s team it will not have success if it abandons the uncompromising and aggressive style that has become synonymous with Australian sides.

As Australia’s players work to clean up their on-field conduct in the wake of the ball tampering crisis, Clarke fired a broadside, saying ‘‘we’re not going to win s..t’’ worrying about how others viewed them.

Clarke defended David Warner’s behaviour, saying Cricket Australia should be encouraging the pugnacious former vicecaptain’s aggression rather than trying to curb it as it was a ‘‘turn on’’ for him to play better.

His fiery comments come at a time when Australia’s behaviour is being scrutinised like never before and with the team in the midst of one of its poorest runs after losing 18 of its past 26 games. With star batsmen Warner and Steve Smith unavailable due to suspensions, expectations are low for the summer.

As part of the review into the sport, Australia’s players developed a pact on how they wanted have women’s T20 cricket at the 2022 Birmingham Games.

Asked whether it would be doing the same for the men’s game, the answer was a clear no.

‘‘No, our focus is on the women’s game and its inclusion,’’ communications general manager Claire Furlong said.

Women’s cricket has never appeared at the

to play the game, urging the country’s disengaged fans to ‘‘compete with us, smile with us, fight on with us, dream with us’’. The pledge was viewed with scorn in some quarters with Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan among the highestprofile

ex-players deriding it.

The Australian team has also undertaken to make ceremonial gestures, such as shaking hands with the opposition before the start of each series.

Clarke is not happy with the direction the team has taken.

‘‘Australian cricket, I think, needs to stop worry about being liked and start worrying about being respected,’’ Clarke said. ‘‘Play tough Australian cricket. Whether we like it or not, that’s in our blood.

‘‘If you try and walk away from it, we might be the most liked team in the world, we’re not going to win s..t. We won’t win a game. Boys and girls want to win.’’

Clarke said he liked the aggression that Warner, who was the most outspoken of his players during his time as captain, brought to the team.

‘‘It’s his style, he’s very upfront, in your face. What you see with David Warner is what you get.

‘‘Your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness. To me I always loved having him in the team I was captaining because he brought that aggression that I wanted.

‘‘In saying that there was always a line, he knew that. We had a number of conversations one on one about that line he couldn’t overstep.’’

Though he did not name Smith, Clarke was critical of the former captain’s leadership, saying he needed to be able to rein in Warner.

Clarke said Warner and the team needed his aggression.

‘‘David Warner gives it to certain blokes on the field because he wants them to give it to him when he’s batting.

‘‘It’s like a turn on, it makes him play better.’’