Clarke officially appointed Australia T20 captain

Michael Clarke will take over as captain of Australia's Twenty20 team from Ricky Ponting, Cricket Australia said on Friday.

It follows Ponting's decision last month to step down from international Twenty20 cricket and concentrate on leading Australia in Test and one-day cricket.

Cameron White will be Clarke's vice-captain, Cricket Australia (CA) said.

"I've learnt a lot from Ricky Ponting over the last few years and I'll continue to learn from him," Clarke said in a CA statement.

"I'm really excited to lead Australia in the newest form of the game.

"We've got a young and enthusiastic group but we must recognise that we've got a lot of work to do in T20 cricket and our recent form hasn't been good.

"We'll target the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean next year and I feel we have plenty of talent to genuinely mount a challenge in that tournament."

Ponting said that Clarke as his deputy had grown into the leadership role.

"We have developed a strong working relationship and he has always led the team well in my absence," Ponting said in the statement.

"I am sure he will do a very good job with the T20 team and I congratulate him and Cameron White on their appointments."

CA chief executive James Sutherland also announced that Andrew Hilditch had been reappointed Chairman of the National Selection Panel through to the end of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"Australia is a team in rebuilding phase but this country has many talented young cricketers, as illustrated by Australia's recent victory in the ICC Champions Trophy,"
Sutherland said.