Oz team sympathetic towards Clarke

Melbourne, Mar 11 (ANI): Australian vice captain Michael Clarke has got the sympathetic backing of his teammates over abandoning the ODI series in New Zealand to return to Sydney and decide whether or not to continue his relationship with fiancee Lara Bingle.

"Many of them have had personal dramas over the years that have come from spending long periods away," a source close to the team said.

"A lot of them were surprised Clarkey left. But they weren't totally shocked because they had seen this situation building up for a while," The Daily Telegraph quoted the source, as saying.

Clarke got his teammates backing but readers of the paper said his decision was just not cricket.

In an online poll on whether Clarke deserved to be Australia's captain one day, 57.64 per cent of respondents said "No".

The poll could be a reflection of issues other than this decision.

However, Clarke can feel comfortable that the decision on who becomes Australia's next captain will not be made in the court of public opinion but by Australia's 14-man Board of Directors, the majority of whom are strongly in Clarke's favour. (ANI)