Katich moves on from Clarke scuffle

Simon Katich insists his spat with Michael Clarke is over, and his impending opening partnership with Phillip Hughes ready to withstand the Proteas' pace attack ahead of his departure for South Africa next week. Katich has spent much of his international career out of the spotlight but controversy and circumstance have placed the veteran opener under intense scrutiny entering the three-Test series against South Africa.

The highly-publicised altercation with Clarke after the Sydney Test has attracted most headlines to date, although that could be confined to the dark recesses of memory if Katich manages to forge a successful union with Hughes and help defend Australia's No. 1 ranking. Despite the tumult surrounding him at present, Katich spoke with remarkable calm and poise this week when discussing the incident with Clarke.

"I was actually surprised it took so long to come out," he said. "Not long after it happened I remember speaking to [Cricket Australia media manager Philip] Pope and asking how we should deal with it. There has been a bit made of it, but really, it's all in the past as far as I'm concerned. It happens in teams from time to time."

The controversy behind him, Katich is now preparing to take on the unfamiliar role of senior batsman for the tour of South Africa. The retirement of Matthew Hayden after the Sydney Test has bestowed upon Katich the mantle of veteran opener and the task of guiding Hughes, his 20-year-old state team-mate, through his debut series.

The elevation in seniority does not appear to rattle Katich. The left-hander has averaged 56.45 in the 12 Tests since his recall and, at the age of 33, finally feels at home in Australia's Test line-up.

"Australia will always miss Matthew Hayden, and we will be taking a young team away, but I don't necessarily see my role changing all that much, because there is always responsibility when you open the innings," he said. "Your role at the top of the order is to go out and score runs, and that doesn't change regardless of who you are batting with at the other end.

"When I first came back into the team, it was important for me to live by the old cliche of one series at a time. There were no guarantees for me, and I had lost my place a few times before. Now that I have been able to string a few Test together, I feel like I can build something from Test to Test. By the end of the summer, I was really relaxed and comfortable in my ability to do the job at the top of the order."

And on the prospect of opening with Hughes?

"There is no better feeling than being picked when you're in form, and this selection is good timing for him," he said. "There are certainly comparisons there with us. Neither of us are textbook players, but we find our own ways to score runs. Phil is a guy who knows his game well, but it is his temperament that is the biggest reason for him getting so far. He has a great hunger, and that's something you can't teach. So he might not be classical, but what is technically correct?"

The road ahead appears a treacherous one for the Australians. Four members of the touring party to South Africa are uncapped, and four others have a combined ten Tests' experience. All will be faced with a Proteas side at the peak of its powers, and confident of wresting the No. 1 ranking from the Australians on their home soil. Assignments do not come more daunting.

Katich, though, believes a corner was turned towards the end of the three-Test series in Australia with the 103-run victory over South Africa in Sydney. The match may have been a dead rubber, but Katich is confident the result will help restore team confidence after a torrid 2008 campaign.

"After we went down 2-0 and the series was over, we were keen to draw a line in the sand," he said. "The New Year was the catalyst for that. The series was done and dusted, and in the meetings we had, we were keen to put it behind us. I think that was one of the big reasons why we were able to turn around and win in Sydney."