Michael Clarke has stressed that Sean Abbott deserves the "full support" of the Australian cricket community following the death of Phil Hughes.
The 22-year-old bowled the bouncer that struck the batsman on the neck at the Sydney Cricket Ground earlier this week, leading to his death two days later.
Clarke, who is captain of the national side, told The Daily Telegraph: "No-one, not one single person, blames him in any way for what has happened.
"He deserves our full support, he will absolutely have mine whenever he needs it, and I know that also goes for the entire Australian cricket community.
"Sean, when you feel like getting back on the horse mate, I promise you that I will be the first to strap on the pads and go stand up the end of the net to hit them back at you. It's exactly what Hugh Dog would want us both to do."
Australia have postponed their first test against India, which had been due to get underway on Thursday.
