Australia’s retiring one-day captain Michael Clarke dedicated their World Cup win to his late team-mate Phillip Hughes. Clarke led his side to a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, scoring 74 as he bowed out of one-day cricket in style. “Hughesy’s thought about and spoken about on a daily basis,” said Clarke, who wore a black armband with the initials PH on it. “Probably the last couple of months, for me personally, it’s probably been harder than when he passed away. “We are still thinking about him, we are still talking about him and we always will. We believe we played this World Cup with 16 players in our squad and that will continue for the rest of my career, that’s for sure.” Clarke said he had preached a philosophy of skill over emotion to his players in their efforts to win the World Cup. “It has been emotional, there’s no doubt about it.” He also painted a positive outlook for Australia’s limited-overs future. “This team is full of amazing talent and I think at the end of a lot of their careers they’ll be greats of the game.” Clarke paid tribute to his bowlers, identifying them as the catalyst for the win. “It’s no coincidence why we sit here World Cup winners. I think our bowlers won us the World Cup. Our batters certainly stood up and grabbed their opportunities but I think our bowling performances in every single game have been exceptional.” The 33-year-old man added.
