Darren Lehmann is having one of the toughest tasks of his career ahead of him as the Aussies take on their arch-rivals England in the first test of the five-match Ashes series on Wednesday. He has been appointed as a coach of the Australian team. He had shared dressing room with Michael Clarke and is looking very positive on grooming the side which is being led by Clarke.
Both the Aussies have same kind of aggression when it comes to deliver for their team and Clarke considers it to be good . "I think our minds, in regards to the way we play on the field, are very similar. He was quite an aggressive player who liked to keep the game rolling and I think we have a lot in common there," Clarke was quoted by The Hindu.
“Michael will have a big input in the day-to-day running of the team and out in the field the coaching staff will certainly let him run it his way. He is an aggressive player as we know and an aggressive captain, which is pretty much what I like anyway. He has done a great job so far with the captaincy role and now he can just concentrate on that. We have become very close very quickly and we are going in the same direction," newly appointed Australian coach added
Lehmann and Clarke first played together for Australia in 2003 and went on to play seven Tests and 18 ODIs. Lehmann recalled the early days of Clarke’s career and said, “Clarke was exciting at the age of 23 and the way he played the game, with that attacking brand of cricket and that certainly hasn't changed over the years.”
Lehmann was one of the few senior cricketers of Australian team who stepped down to give chance to the young Michael Clarke. Clarke was quoted by Deccan Herald saying, "He thought if it meant him standing down for me to stay in the team then he was willing to do that, which was very nice for me as a young 23-year-old. I certainly didn't expect that and I was more than willing to sit back and wait my turn because he was a great player and I enjoyed playing with him.”
"I have always stayed in contact with him and every time we are in Queensland I have seen him and caught up with him. I have really enjoyed the last week, it's been nice to get back and spend some time with him and talk about cricket. As a young kid in the Australian team I used to spend a lot of time with him and sit and talk and learn about all the great things about cricket, and it's been nice this week to re-live a few of those memories," Clarke said.
