Clarke to Lead Australia With Ponting Out, Khawaja Gets Debut
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Michael Clarke will captain Australia in next week’s fifth Ashes cricket Test against England after Ricky Ponting was ruled out with a broken finger.
Clarke, who has led the team in shorter formats of the game, will lead the Test team for the first time in the Sydney match, which starts Jan. 3, Cricket Australia said today. Usman Khawaja, a Pakistan-born left-hander and the top run scorer in Australia’s Sheffield Shield interstate competition this season, will make his Test debut as Ponting’s batting replacement.