Clarke’s availability for the Ashes opener still a question mark
Michael Clarke’s on-going back injury has made him a major doubt for the much waited Ashes opener which gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday, 25th of November. The all-rounder failed to bat at Australia’s opening training
session at the Gabba today raising a lot of questions about his fitness.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120, however, has declined the concerns saying that his absence from the training session was part of his planned preparations and was hopeful he will be able to train when the side enters the nets on Tuesday.
The back disc injury, which has bothered the Australian vice-captain regularly throughout his cricketing career, aggravated when the 29-year-old was playing for the Blues in the Sheffield Shield just 10 days ago. The recurring injury
forced him to sit out training on Monday. His participation was limited to a few walking laps of the ground at the start of the practice session.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Alex-Kountouris-c43123, the physio of Aussies, said it was premeditated that the right-handed batsman, averaging almost 49 in Test cricket, would not have a heavy load after aggravating his recurrent back disk injury just ten days ago. The
physiotherapist, however, said that nothing could be said about whether Clark would be able to deputy Ponting in the first Ashes Test until he bats in Tuesday’s training session.
"I'm reasonably optimistic. But it will be after he bats tomorrow and recovers from that when we will really know how he is”, said Kountouris. "Until he bats tomorrow, we can't be absolutely 100% sure that he's okay to go”.
In today’s training session, the twenty-nine years old http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-South-Wales-c823 player spent most of his time in the dressing room receiving various treatments from the physio.
The right-handed batsman, who is also an occasional left-arm orthodox spinner, acknowledged that he is not hundred percent fit but he was confident that if he kept doing things right and spent maximum time with the physio, he would
be available for Thursday’s game.
Since making his Test debut in October 2006 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, Clarke has played 64 Test matches compiling 4,549 runs at 48.91 including 14 centuries and 19 half-centuries. His absence in the Thursday’s opener can seriously affect the
struggling Australian side that has not been lucky enough in the recent past winning only one of their last eight games across all formats.
Steven Smith, the leg-spin all-rounder, who has been included in the squad for the Ashes opener, at the expense of the more experienced off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, will be in line for his third Test appearance unless the T20 captain
of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 makes a sudden recovery, which seems unlikely with just 4 days left till the match begins
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