Clarke excited about Test new boys

Clarke excited about Test new boys
Captain Michael Clarke says it will take Australia time to climb back up the Test rankings, but he's excited about the new faces in the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.
Clarke and former captain Ricky Ponting were among five remaining members of the one-day international squad who left Sydney on Thursday to join their colleagues, who are already in Sri Lanka as part of the Twenty20 party.
Australia will play two T20, five ODI and three Test matches.

Clarke was excited at the prospect of leading a youthful Test party, almost half of whom have played five or less matches.
The squad includes the uncapped quartet of pacemen Trent Copeland and James Pattinson, spinner Nathan Lyon and batsman Shaun Marsh, plus the one-Test duo of spinner Michael Beer and Usman Khawaja and five-Test fast bowler Ryan Harris.
"I'm really confident with the squad we have," Clarke said.
"Ilove the fact we've got some new fresh faces that are excited and itching for their opportunity. I think that's a great thing to have around the group.
"But the facts are we have to have some success, we have to play good cricket, we have to improve from our recent results throughout the last Australian summer.
"We need to get better. We know that.
"I can guarantee we're working as hard as I've ever worked in my career, so hopefully we can turn that around sooner rather than later."
Australia head into the Test series fifth in the world rankings, one place below Sri Lanka.
"I really hope we can turn things around straight away. I think it is going to take time for us to work our way back up the rankings," Clarke said.
He hadn't yet met South Australian spinner Lyon, but had spoken to him by phone and felt he would form a good combination with Beer.
"As a bowling partnership in tandem. I think they can really work well together," Clarke said.
"I haven't seen much of Nathan Lyon, he's had a great tour to Zimbabwe with the Australia A team, and I've heard some great reports of his bowling over there, so he gets an opportunity to come to Sri Lanka and bowl in what are generally pretty good spinning conditions."
Clarke wasn't concerned Sri Lanka were more match hardened following their recent tour of England and said the Australians had prepared well in camps in Brisbane.
He said he had spent a lot of time at the camps talking to his predecessor Ponting about the team and some of Clarke's ideas and getting some guidance from the veteran batsman.
"One thing he said to me is that he's there for me, anything I need he's more than happy to help.
"I'm really looking forward to working with Ricky."