Clarke likely to feature in first Test against India

Sydney, Dec 5:

Australian captain Michael Clarke is likely to feature in the first Test match against India in Adelaide, starting Dec 9, after undergoing a painless training session with his troublesome hamstring.

According to reports on the guardian.co.uk, Clarke successfully stood up to a running session at the Sydney Cricket Ground Friday.

He and would be joining his team-mates in Adelaide, where he would again train Saturday.

Darren Lehman, the Australian coach, said that he wanted Clarke to play and would like to see him bat in the nets to prove his readiness.

“We want our captain playing. He flies in this afternoon. We’ll get him batting tomorrow and see how he goes. It’ll be case of if he’s fine, he’ll play. We’ll just have to wait and see”, said Lehman Friday.

“We’ll be guided by medical staff, the captain himself, selectors. We’ll get together and assess what the plan is tomorrow,” he added.

The right-handed batsman was set to miss the first Test, after he was forced out of the One-Day International (ODI) Series against South Africa in November after suffering a hamstring injury for the third time since August.

“He’s pretty mentally strong, as you saw throughout the week. He held himself together really well and led the team really well,” Lehman said when asked about Clarke’s present mindset. (IANS)