19 June,2013 12:38 AM IST | | Agencies
Title-holders Australia's early exit from the Champions Trophy which included a defeat by arch-rivals England, was compounded when David Warner was suspended until next month's first Test for a bar-room attack on home batsman Joe Root and fined Aus USD 11,500 (7,000 pounds, USD 11,000).
Australia's chief John Inverarity
Meanwhile captain Michael Clarke, now Australia's best batsman, hasn't played a competitive match since March due to a recurrence of a back injury he suffered in India and was absent again as the team's Champions Trophy exit was confirmed by Monday's 20-run loss to Sri Lanka at The Oval.
Inverarity insisted the Ashes squad contained the "best players available" and that history showed Australia teams written off before a tour of England had a habit of making critics eat their words.
"In 1968, it was said that we had one of the weakest squads, that was 1-1. And another time I remember the English press said it was most certainly the weakest team to come to England was in 1989 and Australia won the series 4-0," Inverarity told BBC Radio's Test Match Special.
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