Clarke regrets 'get ready to have your f***ing arm broken' comment

Australia

Australia captain Michael Clarke has expressed regret at the "unacceptable" remarks made to England tail-ender James Anderson during the first Test in Brisbane last year.

Australia captain Michael Clarke has expressed regret at the "unacceptable" remarks made to England tail-ender James Anderson during the first Test in Brisbane last year.

The International Cricket Council fined Clarke for telling Anderson to "get ready to have your f***ing arm broken" during the November fixture at the Gabba, where the hosts clinched the first of five successive victories for an historic series whitewash.

"Maybe I hadn't said exactly what I said to Anderson previously, but I'd stuck up for my players on a number of occasions and it's never been picked up on the stump microphone," Clarke told <i>cricket.com.au</i>.

"Nobody has ever spoken about it. And when I say I regret it, I regret the language I used and I regret that I said it over the stump mic. The last thing I want is for boys and girls watching cricket to be going and playing club cricket and saying things like that to opposition players.

"I think it's unacceptable that the Australian cricket captain is setting that example. But I don't regret standing up for George Bailey one bit. I don't regret being extremely honest with James Anderson and telling him what Mitchell Johnson's plan was. I don't regret that – I just regret that everybody heard it and the language I used."

Batsman David Warner, meanwhile, will be unavailable for Australia's ODI tri-series with Zimbabwe and South Africa in August and September. Warner will, instead, remain at home to be with fiancee Candice Falzon for the birth of their first child.

"Candice and I have our baby coming in September, so it's fantastic to be able to have that time off," Warner wrote on his personal website. "Since coach Darren Lehmann came on board as coach he's told us all that family comes first, and that's a big thing because we're on the road for a long time.

"So that any time a major personal matter crops up – whether it's a family member being sick, getting married or having a baby – the exemption is there for you."

The hard-hitting left-hander, who is currently playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, will return for Australia's series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October.

"With the World Cup coming up next year and the fact that it's an ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe, I would normally immediately put my hand up for selection," he added.

"That's because playing for Australia is what I've always wanted to do since I was a youngster and you never want to miss an opportunity. But that's what happens in life – you settle down, you get married and you have children."

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