Rest served only to freshen up Clarke: Shane Watson – Cricket News Update
Australia’s One Day International and Test skipper, Michael Clarke, who had to pull out of the Commonwealth Bank series last month due to a hamstring injury, made his return during his side’s warm-up match against the WICB President’s XI, in the Caribbean,
leading up to the 3-match Test series starting April 7, 2012.
Looking comfortable in his 30-run knock in the warm-up game, Clarke garnered appreciation from vice-captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326, who believes that ‘Pup’ is in excellent form, and his absence from the field should not be a cause for concern.
“He batted beautifully from the outset yesterday and today, I think Pup (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120) is in the form of his life so a couple of weeks off is just going to freshen him up more than anything. I've got no concerns and I'm sure he wouldn't either just because of
the way he's hitting the ball,” expressed Watson
The Aussies went to the Caribbean for a 5-match ODI series, a 2-match T20I competition and the 3-Test encounter. While most would have given them a strong chance against the West Indian side, the Windies, to the surprise of many, fought back hard and drew
both the ODI and T20 series, frustrating the tourists.
While the Kangaroos were being led by all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 made his comeback in the warm-up match ahead of the Test series, played from April 2-4, 2012, and scored a 30 composed of four boundaries.
The upcoming Test encounters are crucial for the Aussies, who are desperate for a win in the Caribbean after facing two drawn series. If the Kangaroos manage to clean-sweep the West Indian side in the 3-match competition, they will be able to bring the English
side down from their top Test team berth.
In the 5-day outings, Clarke will be accompanied by veteran http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377, who brings much valued experience to the camp. Speaking about their Test preparations, Ponting had earlier shared, “We spoke about it on Sunday, about how competitive we think they'll
be and how prepared we have to be to win the Test matches over here, we definitely won't take it for granted or take anything lightly.”
It remains to be seen whether Clarke’s return can inspire the Aussies to a series win in the Caribbean, and more so, if the Australians can successfully bring down arch-rivals http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 from the World No.1 Test spot.
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