Australians plan to put dent in England captain's confidence
Australian seam bowler Stuart Clark has welcomed England captain Kevin Pietersen's promise of a bold approach in next year's Ashes series.
Pietersen declared that his side would reclaim the urn next summer if they can replicate the form shown while dispatching South Africa in the fourth Test at the Oval, his first match in charge since succeeding Michael Vaughan.
Clark commended the new England skipper - who he has played with at Hampshire - for delivering such an aggressive statement of intent.
"Kev is very good with that sort of stuff. Kevin is a very forthright person, he has very strong opinions he believes in," Clark said in Sydney on Thursday.
"It's going to be a big series, it was a big series out here last time and it will be a huge series when we go there.
Rivalry
"That's the rivalry that cricket needs to thrive in the longer version, not just Twenty20.
"Cricket needs that controversy and excitement between two countries."
Australia were beaten 2-1 over five Tests on their last tour of England in 2005 but won the return series 5-0 on home soil in 2006-07
"We haven't lost many Test matches since 2005, so if form is anything to go by we've probably got them," Clark added.
"Kevin is good at making statements. He truly believes it. Good luck to him.
"If he's thinking about cricket in one year, I would have thought he'd want to worry about what's happening in the next few months.
"But he's the new captain and full of bravado. If he loses a few Tests we will see if he's still saying something then."
