Clarke warns raw pace alone will not win Ashes

Skipper Michael Clarke today warned the Perth Test against England will not be won by raw pace alone, with bowlers needing to be smart in the forecast searing heat as Australia close in on the Ashes.
A win for the home side in the match starting tomorrow would give Australia an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series after their pacemen, led by left-armer Mitchell Johnson, blitzed the tourists in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Clarke, who will be playing his 100th Test on the WACA's famously fast pitch, said he could feel "a great sense of anticipation around the country" about winning the Ashes, but said it was far from a foregone conclusion.

"This is going to be a tough Test match," he said in a column for News Limited tabloids.
"History says we have a fabulous record here and we have certainly taken a lot of confidence out of winning the first two Tests.
"But history won't mean a thing when the third Test starts on Friday. It's about us creating our own history.

"And it won't be simply a matter of bombing away with our fast bowlers."
Clarke delayed naming his team Thursday to see how bowling linchpin Ryan Harris pulls up after training with a sore knee.
Fellow quicks Doug Bollinger and Nathan Coulter-Nile and all-rounder James Faulkner are on standby.

"I'm going to wait until the toss and see how everybody pulls up after training and it gives us another opportunity to have a look at the wicket," the captain told reporters, adding that if he wins the toss he will likely bat first.
While Perth, where England have only won one Test, will have more pace and bounce than Adelaide, Clarke said in his column that batsmen could prosper on the WACA track.
"Starting your innings in Perth can be harder than most other places because of the extra pace and bounce, but once you get in it can be a great place to bat because the surface is so even and the pace and bounce so consistent.