Clarke confident of recovering from back strain ahead of Gabba Test
Australia has been given a scare before the start of The Ashes series as vice-captain and the linchpin of the middle-order, Michael Clarke, suffered a back strain.
The right hander, who has been the cornerstone of some of Australia’s greatest wins in recent years, has been plagued with back problems for long, and the injury resurfaced forcing him out of training sessions three days before the first Test at the Gabba
in Brisbane.
However, in typical Australian fashion Clarke refused to give in to the injury, he claims that the problem has been affecting him for many years now, yet it is not insurmountable for him.
"I'm still a little bit stiff and sore, hence me not training today", Clarke said. "Our plan was for me to have a bat tomorrow and then another good hit on Wednesday. The battle is to get as close to a hundred per cent as possible for Thursday. I'm pretty
confident that I'll be right. I've played 64 Test matches with it now, I haven't missed a Test, touch wood, it’s not so much batting, it's more waking up daily. Some days are better than others. I get that feeling when you get out of bed”, concluded the right
hander, who is being groomed as the future captain of Australia as Ricky Ponting nears the end of one of the most glittering careers in international cricket.
Clarke found support from his captain, who feels that the right hander would recover in time and play in the first Test match of the ultimate battle of Test cricket with their oldest rivals England.
Ponting added that Clarke was determined to play in one of the most high profile clashes in recent years.
"He's been in this situation a few times the last couple of years", said Ponting. "He's had niggles but been able to come back most times. Alex [Kountouris, the team physio] has made it clear he wants him to bat tomorrow [Tuesday] and Wednesday. If he doesn't
bat tomorrow it'd be hard for him to be considered for the game, but we will definitely give him as long as possible".
Meanwhile, the Australian selectors have called up left handed batsman Usman Khawja as a cover for Clarke, Usman is expected to be drafted in the team if http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 fails to recover from his injury.
The southpaw has been a prolific scorer in domestic cricket. He hails from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 and was chosen for the two match Test series against the country of his origin in the last English summer.
He was thrilled to have been called up and has vowed to do his best for the Aussies if given a chance to compete for the ultimate prize in Test cricket.
The expectations are very high in both countries and fans across the World are waiting with bated breath for the start of the series.
The last Ashes Test in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Steve-Harmison-c2576 bowled one of the widest deliveries in Test history, the ball pitched at least three feet outside the off-stump and ended in the hands of Andrew Flintoff positioned
in the slips.
Many feel that the ball by Harmison typified the approach of a jittery and nervous English team that was whitewashed 5-0 in that series.
The present English lot is a lot tougher mentally and has had a wonderful run in all formats of the game hence they would be aiming to topple the Aussies, they would be hoping that their hosts continue their poor run for at least the Test series and let
the tourists retain the urn.
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