Despite his impressive outing against the UAE, Australia will not risk their captain Michael Clarke by rushing him into the playing eleven for their opening Cricket World Cup match against arch-rivals England on Saturday.
Coach Darren Lehmann announced after a brief nets session yesterday that Australia will stick to their planned deadline of having Clarke back in action for their February 21 match against Bangladesh at The Gabba in Brisbane.
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The 33-year-old Clarke top-scored for Australia with a 64 in their match against the UAE and also bowled two overs. Keen to test himself and prove to others that he was fit for the 44-day long tournament, he had opted to open the innings with Aaron Finch on Wednesday so that he could get a long outing.
But Lehmann said: “He pulled up really well and no…he’s not playing on Saturday so there you go. How’s that?
“We are really happy with the way it’s gone. The way he batted, ran, fielded, bowled… he ticked all the boxes. We’re really happy with his progress. But we are going to stick with the plan and he will play against Bangladesh.
“He will have a good solid week and get prepared for Bangladesh.”
Lehmann said Clarke was part of the discussion on whether he should play the first match, and was very respectful of the decision made by the team. He also revealed that the captain would have to go through a few more fitness tests to completely satisfy the physios.
Clarke ruled out of @cricketworldcup opener, but there is some good news: http://t.co/GPatPLIso8 #cwc15 #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/HNtKMPyNoX
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) February 12, 2015
“Everyone was sitting around talking about it and making sure we make the right decision which we’re really comfortable with,” said Lehmann.
“He just had a chat. He is respectful of what we are trying to do to get him right.
“He is a quality player and a quality leader. Whilst we would have loved to have him available for this first game, we’re making sure he is 100 per cent ready to go for Bangladesh.
“He’s still ticking those (fitness tests) off along the way. He has a few tests today to do but he will pass those no dramas.
“It is making sure he gets into the fielding side of it in the next week and just ticks that off and away we go.”
