‘Born again’ Michael Clarke thanks Australian team for letting him deal with Lara Bingle

Australian Twenty20 skipper Michael Clarke has thanked his fellow team-mates giving him the space to deal with his personal issues with fiancée Lara Bingle.

Clarke had flown back home to Sydney during the New Zealand tour to end the well-publicized relationship.

After a week of leave he had returned to Wellington to prepare for the first Test, where Clarke typically responded to his critics with a century.

“A month or so ago I went home from New Zealand and had to deal with things I had to, that people go through in their personal life. It was great having the support of not only my friends and family back home, but of my teammates, Ricky [Ponting] has been fantastic and very supportive,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Clarke, as saying.

“As was Tim Nielsen, to allow me to go back home, have the freedom to make that choice and then welcome me back with open arms into the squad. They allowed me to prepare as well as I could for that Test match against New Zealand and to score runs was very rewarding,” he added. 

The 29-year-old further said that he left the New Zealand tour not only for himself, but for the team as well.
 
“I thought I wasn’t in a position to perform the way I need to perform at the highest level, so with the help and support of family, friends, and my teammates, I made that decision,” Clarke said. 

When asked if he felt his next relationship would be splashed across the front pages of newspapers, Clarke said: “I hope not, but I think it will be, and I’ll continue to try to keep as much of my personal life personal. If somebody gets a photo of me, they’re going to write about me, I have to accept that.”