The Australia coach, Darren Lehmann, has refused to rule Michael Clarke out of Saturday’s World Cup opener against England after watching his captain score a half-century in his side’s final warm-up match against the United Arab Emirates in Melbourne.
Clarke scored 64 in 61 balls in his first match back for his country since tearing a hamstring during the first Test against India in Adelaide in early December, and he looks on course to meet the 21 February deadline set for him by Cricket Australia to prove his fitness for the World Cup.
The 33-year-old has been working round the clock in an effort to make the tournament following surgery on his problematic right hamstring seven weeks ago. Although he is well ahead of schedule in his recovery, it would still be a surprise if Clarke returned to face England at the MCG this weekend.
Yet that did not stop Lehmann keeping England guessing. “We’ll sum it up tomorrow, see how he pulls up,” he said when asked if Clarke could play on Saturday. “We’ll see what happens from there.
“He played really well, which is nice to see after coming back from the hamstring. It’s a good result for him today. Probably the fielding is going to be the big thing. But we’re really pleased and he’s been really confident.”
Lehmann had hinted his captain, who ran unhindered between the wickets and also bowled two overs of left-arm spin, could return to face England after he made 51 in his first comeback match for grade club Western Suburbs in Sydney two weeks ago. Clarke then stepped up his recovery last Tuesday, scoring 34 and also bowling two overs for a Cricket Australia XI against Bangladesh in Brisbane.
This 188-run win in front of just 3,050 spectators could hardly be described as ideal warm-up for Saturday’s match, when more than 90,000 fans are expected to provide vociferous backing for Australia.
However, it did provide more positive news for Clarke, who was dropped on two but overcame a scratchy start to top-score as Australia made 304 for eight batting first. The UAE, a team largely made up of part-timers, were never in any danger of chasing down that total, eventually subsiding to 116 all out in 30.1 overs.
Whatever signals Lehmann was attempting to send out, the truth is his side’s second match of the tournament against Bangladesh in Brisbane on Saturday week has been Clarke’s target ever since Cricket Australia set their controversial fitness deadline early last month.
It is widely believed Clarke was seething with the schedule of his comeback, having been led to believe in private he would have until at least Australia’s fourth match of the tournament to get himself fit.
Given the convoluted format of the World Cup, with the first round taking more than a month to complete, many saw the narrow window given to Clarke to prove his fitness as Australia setting their captain up to fail. That came amid talk of widespread discontent behind the scenes and concerns by Australia that the saga over Clarke’s fitness was overshadowing the team’s preparations for the World Cup.
The suggestion that Clarke’s Australia team-mates have already moved on from his captaincy, preferring the fresher leadership styles of his stand-ins Steve Smith and George Bailey, is another strand to an issue that has clouded the team’s preparations for the tournament. Both Clarke and Lehmann have denied there are any behind-the-scenes tensions in the camp, with the coach recently saying he was “sick” of the speculation over his captain.
There could yet be a fairytale ending to the whole saga if Clarke leads the pre- tournament favourites to the World Cup on home soil. Yet Australia are keenly aware they are just one more Clarke injury away from the whole issue blowing up again. With an Ashes series in England to follow this year, that would be the nightmare scenario.
There was some encouraging news from Lehmann on James Faulkner, the all-rounder who has been ruled out of the England match with a side strain. “He’s back in the nets batting, which is a really pleasing thing for him,” said Lehmann. “We’re going to try and get him back bowling as soon as we possibly can, but it’s a slow process. We know he’s not available for the first game, but we’ll see what happens from there.”
