Clark named ambassador for Special Olympics team

Stuart Clark: pitching in for a good cause © Getty Images

Stuart Clark, the Australian fast bowler, has been named the ambassador for Australia's Special Olympics cricket team. Clark, who was ruled out of the Champions Trophy, spent some time with the handicapped players and also donated a cheque worth $18,000 on behalf of Cricket New South Wales to help send an Australian side for the Special Olympics Cup, which will be held in Mumbai in November 2006.

"It's a great opportunity for the members of the team," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I have told the players to enjoy the experience because they might not get the chance to do it again. Michael Clarke and I went to the team's training camp and the players play a good brand of cricket. It was a great experience for Michael and me and it pleased me to think we might have brought a smile to their faces."

Apart from Australia and hosts India, the tournament will also include teams from Afghanistan, Pakistan, England, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and West Indies. The rules for the tournament are similar to the Twenty20 games, with batsmen getting a free hit after a no-ball, and each bowler being allowed a maximum of two overs.

Reacting to the thigh injury which kept him out of the Champions Trophy, Clark said it was more serious than he had anticipated. "It was a big shock," he said. "I didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as the doctors and specialists are telling me.

"It is a matter of doing all the rehabilitation and giving myself the chance of playing some cricket before the Ashes series comes along. It is very competitive for spots and you are in no way guaranteed a spot. It's going to make it hard for me. There is a potential for me to be playing not much cricket." Clark has been replaced in the Champions Trophy squad by Dan Cullen, the South Australian offspinner.