The vice captain of the Australian cricket team, George Bailey, has said that Michael Clarke’s injury is a big blow for his team before their first match in the ongoing Champions Trophy against England.

In the absence of Clarke, It’s Bailey who will captain the team.

Talking to the reporters in the press conference ahead of the match, Bailey said, “Michael is a great player and to lose such a player before a crunch game like this is definitely a big blow. We were expecting him to get fit for this game, but, unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

In Clarke’s absence, Australia’s batting order looks fragile. Apart from Shane Watson at the top of the order, the other batsmen don’t have that much experience of playing in English conditions. Clarke’s presence in that middle order would have made a lot of difference.

The weakness of the Aussie batsmen against the moving ball had got exposed in their last warm up game against India. They didn’t look prepared at all to handle that kind of bowling.

The English bowlers particularly James Anderson and Stuart Broad have mastered the art of moving the ball both ways and they will be massive threats for Australia upfront.

However, according to Bailey, his players have put that collapse against India out of their minds and they will be going into Saturday’s game with a fresh mind.

The Australian skipper said, “It was obviously disappointing to get all out on just 60 odd runs, but, we need to move on. It will be a new game tomorrow and both the teams will begin on naught.”

When asked which side is the favourite in this tournament, Bailey said, “I think there is not much difference between the sides as far as the talent is concerned. All the sides are looking good at the moment. So, it’s hard to say which team is the favourite.”