Clarke defends aggression as Australia crumble

What was Michael Clarke thinking then, as he swung lustily at Stuart Broad's first ball to him? The scoreboard was showing 29 for 5 and Australia's Ashes hopes were hanging by the same thread that still connects him to the captaincy of the national side. What was Clarke thinking?

"I was thinking if he pitches it up I'm going to hit it as far as I can," Clarke said. "I watched guys around me get out trying to defend, and I thought like I've always said, the better the bowling, the more aggressive you've got to be. You live by the sword, you die by the sword."

And so die Clarke did, Australia's Ashes chances and more than likely numerous careers also. Clarke said this day was as bad as any in his career, comparable to being bowled out for 47 by South Africa at Cape Town in 2011. But he refused to apportion much blame to his batsmen, instead insisting Stuart Broad and the seaming Trent Bridge conditions were largely to blame.

"It's up there. That and being bowled out for 47 against South Africa is not a nice one to remember. That's as tough as they come today," he said. "There's no doubt we didn't bat well but they were good conditions to bowl in. That's as tough a batting conditions as I've faced in my career.

"It's always a lot easier watching than it is playing. The guys have worked extremely hard in the nets in conditions that have swung and seamed. Shot selection is a critical part of being a successful batsman, there's no doubt about it. It might look like a lot of the guys could have let those balls go but the class of Stuart Broad, he was bringing the ball back into the right-hander where he normally takes it away.

"So that makes you feel like you have to play a lot more. I don't want to take anything away from Stuart, I thought he bowled really well. When you look at a replay on the big screen and you see where the three stumps are and you see where the batter gets out it looks like you don't have to play it. But that's the way it goes."

Clarke and the selectors are already facing criticism for a team composition that had Mitchell Marsh dropped for his brother Shaun, allowing Clarke to move down to No. 5 but also leaving him with a bowling attack composed of three strike bowlers in Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson, but no allrounder.

In contravention of his assertion two days out from the game, Clarke said that the plan this morning would have been to bowl first had he won the toss. "The team, at the end of the day the selectors pick the team and I respect what they do," he said. "We've got some very good selectors to be honest. So, I think their reasons for the eleven players they gave me and that we spoke about were very good.

"I think we've seen at Edgbaston, Mitch Marsh didn't bowl too many overs. We knew this wicket was going to have enough in it, the plan was to bowl first. And the extra batting - knowing that if we didn't win the toss it was going to be hard to bat. So the selectors wanted that extra batting as well to make as many runs as we could.

"I think the selectors have been fantastic all series, they've been very open and honest with me. They've kept the faith with certain players. It doesn't matter what XI you pick, you've got to play as well as you possibly can and we didn't do that today."

Clarke conceded that Australia's batsmen needed to spend more time in conditions like they witnessed at Trent Bridge in order to have a chance of succeeding more often away from Australia. "It's hard to bat when the ball is swinging and seaming and that's something the guys have experienced over here," he said.

"You face that a lot in South Africa as well and even in Shield cricket. We can obviously improve against seam, swing, and spin. You're looking to get better in any way possible, and the best way to do that is to play in those conditions."