Former Australia captain Michael Clarke makes his return to cricket this weekend in a Sydney club competition, but with his eyes on some unfinished business in the Twenty20 format. The 34-year-old, who bowed out of the game in August after the disastrous Ashes series in England, will return to his old team Western Suburbs to play Randwick-Petersham from Saturday.
One of the outstanding batsmen of his generation, he said he "missed the game", and now he is free of international demands he wants to have a crack at making his mark in T20s. "I spent the last 13 years staying away from T20 cricket so I could be the best Test and one-day player I could possibly be," Clarke told Sky News on Thursday.
"Now I probably have more time and opportunity, if I do miss the game and love the game, to be able to focus on that and improve. "I didn't perform in that format as well as I would have liked, so now I've got the time to work on my game in that format." While Clarke played in 115 Tests and 245 one-day internationals, he only took part in 34 T20 internationals during his first-class career.
T20 cricket can be a big money-spinner for players, with Australian veteran Shane Watson netting a US $1.4 million contract at this month's Indian Premier League auction. This week Clarke is looking to help his old club - winless and in last place - take on their stronger neighbouring club Randwick-Petersham in a two-day match.
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