Clarke's fate as T20 skipper to be decided next week

Melbourne, May 19 (ANI): Michael Clarke's future as Australia's Twenty20 captain will be decided next week, after his dismal performance with the bat during the World Cup in the Caribbean.

Victoria captain Cameron White, who led his side to the Big Bash title, is being tipped to be the new Australian Twent20 skipper after incumbent Clarke's tenure comes under review over his suspect batting in the shortest version of the game.

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch's first job when he returns home from the Caribbean will be to hold a telephone conversation with his fellow selectors to pick Australia's three teams for a tour of Britain, including the squad for two Twenty20 games against Pakistan.

That meeting is likely to be held at the weekend, The Age reports.

Clarke is sure to face further scrutiny of his tenure as a Twenty20 batsman and captain after his admission that the selectors "will have to have a look at my performances", which he conceded were "not up to scratch".

Clarke is favoured to assume the Test and one-day leadership when Ricky Ponting retires, but the issue of his Twenty20 form has become so sensitive that Cricket Australia officials have refused to discuss it until the selectors name captains for the England tour, which also includes two Tests against Pakistan and five one-dayers against England, the paper said.

Clarke has conceded that his position must come under review following Australia's seven-wicket loss to archrivals England. He finished with 92 runs in the tournament at 15.33. White on the other hand scored 180 runs at 45, with a strike rate of 146.34 compared with Clarke's strike rate of 80.7.

It is a difficult consideration for the selectors because of Clarke's astute leadership and excellent winning record as captain. But his not holding his place in the Twenty20 team as a batsman is proving to be a critical weakness. (ANI)