Michael Clarke: Australia captain laments Pakistan whitewash

Michael Clarke has managed only 294 runs at 29.40 in his six Tests in 2014 so far

Australia captain Michael Clarke says his team have failed to learn from their recent struggles in Asia after slipping to a 2-0 Test series whitewash against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

They lost by 221 runs in the first Test and by 356 runs in the second Test.

Australia were also beaten 4-0 by India last year and Clarke said: "I think we've got to talk about what happened.

"We were hopeful that we'd learnt some lessons from our trip to India, but it doesn't look that way."

This latest defeat was Australia's 10th in their last 14 Tests in Asia.

"Our performances this tour were not any better than in India," Clarke continued.

"We must look to improve next time we get to the sub-continent but as a team there's no doubt the players are happy we're going home to play in conditions we're accustomed to.

"The best teams win away from home consistently, so it shows there's still a lot of work to do."

Australia now host South Africa in a tour featuring three Tests, five one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals, with the first T20 in Adelaide on Wednesday.

Clarke reserved his most damning criticism for himself, after another disappointing display with the bat in the middle order.

"I'm probably most angry with myself, most disappointed with my own personal performance," said Clarke, who emerged from the series with just 57 runs to show from his four innings.

"I've always prided myself on leading by example. I don't have any excuse for underperforming. That's probably what burns me most at this moment in time."

Pakistan now move above England to third in the world Test rankings and captain Misbah-ul Haq praised an all-round team performance.

"We always had the belief, and which is why we delivered," said Misbah, who on Sunday scored the fastest 50 in Test cricket and equalled the record for quickest century.

"We knew if we could put up some decent totals, we could bowl them out. As it happened, it was a complete team performance and each member of the team contributed towards the team cause."