Cricket: Clarke keeps on winning

Michael Clarke maintained his winning record as captain with Australia clinching the decisive one-day international against South Africa in Durban by three wickets yesterday.

Clarke is now undefeated in the one test series and three ODI series Australia have contested since he succeeded Ricky Ponting as skipper after the World Cup.

Man-of-the-series Michael Hussey played a vintage unbeaten knock of 45 from 64 and saw Australia to South Africa's target of 6-222 with 15 balls to spare, the veteran securing the win with an emphatic pull shot for six. The predicted rain never eventuated and the Proteas' apparent plan of preserving wickets in case Duckworth Lewis intervened, backfired. Their 17 runs from the batting power play was a telling factor in their slow run rate of 4.4 an over.

The Australians made life difficult for themselves in chasing, with poor shot selection resulting in the fall of regular wickets. But in the end they showed why they're the No.1 ranked team in one-day cricket, with victories in Centurion and now Durban outweighing their one off-night in Port Elizabeth in game two.

Returning from back spasms, Shane Watson justified Australia's eagerness to have him play, posting 49 from 46 balls in a man-of-the-match performance. Another injury-hampered star, Shaun Marsh (30), played his part in a patient Australian chase, as he returned from a shoulder problem.

Proteas part-timer JP Duminy (2-29) took the important wickets of Clarke (26) and Marsh, and when the West Australian fell the score was 5-156 in the 35th over, when another quick wicket would have given South Africa a big opportunity to steal the match back. But Australia's decision to go with a long specialist batting line-up paid dividends on a slowing Kingsmead wicket, where they now hold a commanding 5-2 advantage over the home side. Tasmanian spinner Xavier Doherty was the standout bowler for Australia, taking 2-34 from nine overs. Young quick Pat Cummins was destroyed in his opening spell, but showed excellent composure to fight back in his second effort to finish with 1-49 and Mitchell Johnson claimed 2-37.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia said yesterday that former test opener Simon Katich will face possible sanctions under its code of behaviour for making "detrimental public comment" about his strained relationship with captain Clarke. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement he was "surprised and disappointed" to see comments made by Katich after new full-time national selector John Inverarity indicated the door was not closed to Katich for future selection.

On Friday, the 36-year-old Katich said a dressing room altercation he had with then vice-captain Clarke following the Sydney test against South Africa in 2009 would prevent him from ever playing again for Australia. Katich said the incident was a key factor behind his Cricket Australia contract not being renewed in June.

Katich, when asked about Inverarity's comment that "the book is closed on nobody," said: "It's pleasing to hear, but I think you don't have to be Einstein to figure out it's not just the selectors that had a part in sending me on my way, so that's one of those things."

Cricket Australia said it "emphatically refutes any suggestion that Michael Clarke influenced the independent selection panel's recommendations for the 2011-12 CA contract players' list. The suggestions made by Katich are completely erroneous, inappropriate and unfair to Clarke, the selectors and to CA." Sutherland said details of Katich's hearing will be released in the next few days. Asked if he thought he would be part of the team while Clarke is still there, Katich said: "I wouldn't have thought so, because that's probably why I'm in this position in the first place."

Clarke, speaking in Durban after Australia clinched the one-day series against South Africa, said he was not a selector when Katich had his contract cut.

"Since becoming a selector I've made it clear ... that the door's certainly not closed on anyone," Clarke said. "But in saying that, I don't think his comments are certainly helping him get back into this team at the moment."

Katich has scored 4,188 runs at an average of 45.03 from 56 tests for Australia. He was dropped from the national squad for the first time in 2007 and told that his test career was all but over. Katich responded by scoring a record 1,509 runs in the domestic Sheffield Shield, earning a test recall.