Clarke forecasts Sri Lanka success

Ever the optimist, Australia's new captain Michael Clarke has refused to concede his team may be facing some painful days ahead as he departed for a tour of Sri Lanka, which will be followed by series against South Africa and India.Australia's Test squad featured a handful of names that were a surprise even to Clarke - he is still to meet the offspin bowler Nathan Lyon - but he reasoned this newness would help foster an attitude of enthusiasm and keenness to work hard in Sri Lanka and beyond."I'd like to say no, to be honest. I really hope we can turn things around straight away," Clarke said at Sydney airport when asked if short-term pain should be expected."I think it is going to take time for us to work our way back up the rankings, but I'm confident with the talent we have, not only in our squads but around domestic cricket, if we keep the same attitude we've had over the last couple of months with our training and our dedication, if we continue on this road I can see us having some success."We're certainly not blinded [to] the fact we've got two of the best teams in the world in their own conditions coming up with Sri Lanka and South Africa, so it's going to be a tough start for us, but it's a good test to see where we're at. If we can have some success against both these teams, playing away from home, I think that'll give us some real confidence for the summer against India."