Pakistan hope to send shivers down Oz spine

Australia captain Michael Clarke is expecting a stern challenge from defending champions Pakistan in his side's World Twenty20 opener in Gros Islet on Sunday.

Updated on: May 1, 2010, 23:44:27 IST

AFP | By HT Correspondent, Gros Islet (Saint Lucia)

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Australia captain Michael Clarke is expecting a stern challenge from defending champions Pakistan in his side's World Twenty20 opener in Gros Islet on Sunday.

Pakistan's recent tour of Australia saw them fail to win in three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20.

The fall-out was dramatic, with former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan receiving indefinite bans for infighting.

On top of their disciplinary problems, Pakistan will also be without Umar Gul, the most successful bowler in Twenty20 internationals with 43 wickets in 26 matches, after the paceman suffered a shoulder injury at a training camp in Lahore earlier this month.

But batsman Clarke, leading Australia now that Ricky Ponting has opted out of Twenty20 internationals, told reporters here on Saturday: “I think Pakistan are very strong in this form of game. We will have to be at our best to beat them.”

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