Michael Clarke confident `fallen` Oz would rise again from `Ashes`

Sydney: Australian captain Michael Clarke has claimed his team would overcome their current doldrums to give clear favourites England a run for their money during the all important Ashes series this year.

"Everyone in Australian cricket knows how much the Ashes means to the country and we will do everything within our power to turn the ship around after our disappointing tour of India," Clarke wrote in his column for an Australian website. "All of us understand our performances over the last four Tests were not acceptable. But, that said, we are only a couple of months removed from advancing to within one Test match of taking the No.1 ranking from South Africa," he wrote. "That suggests all is not lost and talk of us being the worst Australian team in history is a bit harsh. One bad tour doesn`t define a squad and I`m confident we can take the fight to England," he further wrote. Clarke added: "We picked a squad we thought was suited to Indian conditions and provided plenty of all-round options and we will look to fine-tune that for what lies ahead in England." "We have eight weeks before the squad leaves Australia for the Champions Trophy and I`ll be involved in plenty of discussions with Mickey Arthur and Pat Howard over that time," he wrote. "We all know that if you keep doing the same things you will keep getting the same results, so it`s important we analyse the positives and negatives to come out of India and move forward," he added. "It was, without doubt, a hard tour of India and one I hope will drive us on to better things in the months ahead. The players know how big the next 12 months are and it is still our aim to win back the urn and make Australia proud," he concluded. ANI