Melbourne, March 8 (IANS) Australian cricket vice-captain Michael Clarke will fly back home from the ongoing New Zealand tour due to personal reasons.

It is not known how long Clarke will be away from the team, Cricket Australia (CA) said Monday.

'Michael is attending to personal, non-cricket matters and we ask on his behalf that his privacy be respected,' CA general manager Michael Brown said.

The National Selection Panel (NSP ) will Tuesday consider whether to select a back-up player to join the squad in New Zealand.

The Australian team has three ODIs from the five-match series still to play, before a series of three Test matches against New Zealand.

The Test squad for that series is due to be announced Tuesday