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In the wake of revelations that Shane Warne could become the temporary Australian Twenty20 coach for a three-match period, controversial former captain Michael Clarke could take the reigns of the Australian side himself.
Clarke has been approached to either captain or coach the Prime Minister’s XI outfit next year in Canberra.
The T20 match will be played at Manuka Oval in Canberra against Sri Lanka on February 15, 2017.
Clarke was approached by Cricket Australia to be involved in the match, with his participation expected to increase the interest in the game dramatically.
Last year Mike Hussey skippered a PM’s side featuring Test players Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Peter Siddle and Ashton Agar, and Clarke is considering a cameo return to the Australian cricket landscape in either the coaching box or on the field as captain.
“I’ll speak to [high-performance manager] Pat Howard about it and make a decision,” Clarke said.
“They’ve asked me to do it [either captain or coach] and I’m happy to help them any way I can.”
“It would be a one-off just to help the boys out more than anything. I don’t have any ambitions to coach at this stage, I’ve only just got out of the game from playing and I’m really happy with where I’m at and what I’m doing.”
It is understood that Clarke’s involvement in the match is not designed as a pathway for him to assume T20 coaching duties during head coach Dareen Lehmann’s absence.
Instead, Clarke endorsed his good mate Shane Warne who has expressed interest in the temporary position and suggested he would excel in the role in a full-time capacity.
“I think Warney would do a great job as Twenty20 coach, though, definitely,” Clarke said.
“If they wanted to split the roles and get a full-time T20 coach I think Warney would be unbelievable.”
A return to cricket with any Australian team is a movement potentially fraught with danger.
Clarke caused a major stir in cricket circles last month with the release of his explosive autobiography My Story.
One of Clarke’s most explosive revelations was his reference to Shane Watson as a “tumour” on the team. Watson has since stated that such comments are a closer reflection on Clarke as a person, a claim supported by former opening batsman Simon Katich.
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