Michael Clarke is gaining faith in his injured back © Getty Images Enlarge
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Michael Clarke is confident of overcoming his long-term back injury, but continues to have daily treatment as he prepares for next week's first Test. Clarke, the vice-captain, proved he is ready for a spot in the squad to face West Indies at the Gabba, which is named on Thursday, with a century for New South Wales against Tasmania.

However, he won't risk going into the game next Thursday under-prepared and has asked to play in Sunday's all-star game at the Gabba to continue to build up his workload. "For me it is about being 100%," he told AAP after scoring 106 at the SCG. "I need to be able to give the team 100% because if I can't there is certainly someone else there that can and will perform better than me. So I would not dare go into a Test match not knowing if I could give 100%."

Clarke won't have total faith in his body until he gets through a full day in the field. "[It's] not bad actually, I thought I would be stiffer than I was," he said after his innings. "I think I was the sorest after the one-day game and not just my back but general body stiffness, and I pulled up pretty well. Again I am having treatment every morning and I have been seeing the same physio for the last couple of weeks. So I have just got to get that regular treatment."

Clarke missed the Champions Trophy and the one-day tour of India and one benefit of his time off is he remains a lot fresher than his team-mates, such as Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, who have been weighed down by the heavy schedule. "I am more confident now of being able to bat for that amount of time," he said, "and waking up feeling pretty good is a positive for me."

He has asked not to bowl in the Sheffield Shield game this week but won't give up his left-arm spin to ease the problem. "I will be using that week leading up to the Test match to do a bit of bowling and get back into it," he said.