Michael Clarke trying to get Kumble's number

MELBOURNE:  Michael Clarke has been scampering to get Anil Kumble's phone number ever since the Indian skipper criticised his "unsportsmanlike" behaviour to clear the air on why he did not walk despite edging a clear catch in the ill-tempered Sydney Test.
    
"I have tried to get Kumble's mobile phone number so I can call him and smooth things over," Clarke was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning herald'.
    
"The only reason I didn't walk when I was given out is because I was in shock, in disbelief, that my innings had ended so quickly," was Clarke's clarification for standing his ground, something that came in for criticism from Kumble.
    
Clarke also found support in his home-state New South Wales with Cricket NSW chairman and former Test player Alan Davidson saying that Clarke's stay at the crease was merely an expression of shock.
    
"He would acknowledge that he made a blue. But I think he was just in shock that he was out first ball. The fact is that the Indians appealed and no one appeals for a catch to first slip. Maybe that threw him," he said.
    
Clarke's first coach at NSW, Steve Rixon, felt the right hander's image should not be tarnished as he is the "ideal person to lead the country" after Ricky Ponting.
    
Former Test batsman John Benaud, meanwhile, felt Clarke was being targeted by the visiting Indian team.
    
"Michael's a future captain of Australia and this is a common tactic, targeting opposing captains. The Indians have targeted Ponting and now his successor," he said.