Clarke sees positives in postponement

Australia's acting captain Michael Clarke says the postponement of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan until 2009 is a "great result" for the players.

BRISBANE // Australia's acting captain Michael Clarke said the postponement of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan until 2009 was a "great result" for the players. On Sunday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) bowed to the inevitable when it postponed the tournament, due to take place next month, after facing a possible boycott from five countries expressing reservations over security threats. "It's a great result for all the players just to find out whether we're going or not going," Clarke said today in Brisbane where the Australians are preparing for a one-day series against Bangladesh in Darwin.

"I think all the guys are happy now we know now that the ICC, Cricket Australia and ACA (Australian Cricketers' Association) would make a decision, and they've finally done that. "It's a tournament (title) Australian currently holds and next year, whenever they put it on we'll look forward to retaining that trophy. "Right now all the guys are rapt the ICC has made a decision." Clarke also said he was not bothered by the former England opener Marcus Trescothick's admission that he used saliva from breath fresheners during the 2005 Ashes series to help keep a shine on the ball.

England won the series thanks in no small part to their bowlers' ability to get reverse swing. Trescothick wrote in his recently-released autobiography that during the series it was his responsibility to keep the shine on the ball. "Marcus has written a book, hasn't he?" asked Clarke. "Well, good luck, like I say, that's in the past. "We'll get our chance in the next 15 months to play against the Poms (English) back in England."

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) says it has contingency plans for its team to play international cricket next month after the postponement of the Champions Trophy. The PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi said that Pakistan might tour South Africa next month to play a triangular series - also featuring India - while Sri Lanka has also expressed their willingness to play a one-day international series.

"We have couple of plans and we hope that our players would be playing some international cricket next month," Naghmi said. Former Pakistan Test captains Intikhab Alam and wicketkeeper Moin Khan said the postponement of the tournament was the right decision. "At least we did not lose the hosting right and, in the present circumstances, I think it was the right decision to delay the tournament for one year," said Khan.

Alam said nobody in the world could give guarantees about possible suicide bombings - one of the reasons for the postponement of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. "It's (Champions Trophy) the second mega event after the World Cup and it was a wise decision to postpone it," Alam said. "Hopefully the security situation improves in Pakistan when it is staged next year." *Agencies