Back injury healing well - Clarke
Michael Clarke is confident his latest back injury is improving but Australia cannot expect him to take much of a bowling load if he plays next week's first Test
Brydon Coverdale in Potchefstroom
20-Feb-2009
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Michael Clarke is confident his latest back injury is improving but
Australia cannot expect him to take much of a bowling load if he plays
next week's first Test. Clarke was ruled out of Australia's only
warm-up match, which started in Potchefstroom on Friday, and while his
team-mates toiled in the field he batted in the nets and ran for the
first time on the trip.
"It's getting there slowly," Clarke said after play. "I had a good bat
today. Since arriving in South Africa it's improved slowly every day.
I'm getting plenty of treatment from the physio, I'm working into more
batting every day. Hopefully I'll be able to have a bit of a field, a
bit of a run around tomorrow morning after the boys do their warm-up."
Clarke, 27, has had ongoing back problems in the past but this injury
is a new and unrelated one. It means that there is a little bit of
uncertainty about his recovery time but he said there had been
definite signs of improvement.
"I've had a lot of inflammation and spasm," Clarke said. "The spasms have
stopped, it's still a little bit inflamed. It's definitely calming
down. It's completely different [to my previous injury]. It's a
different area. It's higher up in my back, it's sort of behind my
ribs, so I get it across and it comes into the front of my chest."
Clarke will not do any net bowling before the first Test, making
Australia's spin selection all the more important. The legspinner
Bryce McGain was attacked relentlessly by the South African Board
President's XI on the first day and finished with 2 for 126 from 19
overs, while Nathan Hauritz was rested.
"There wasn't much spin out there for Bryce today, on a very flat
wicket and fast outfield," Clarke said. "I don't think he should take
too much from the result. I think he'll be happy that he's bowled a
few overs, got a few overs under his belt and hopefully if he gets the
opportunity, will look forward to the first Test."
The fast men were a little more difficult to dominate, particularly
the impressive Ben Hilfenhaus, who bowled better than his 1 for 60
from 20 overs suggested. He entered the match as the fast bowler least
likely to play in Johannesburg - Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and
Doug Bollinger were the incumbents from the Sydney Test
against South Africa - but finished the first day as the pick of the attack.
Clarke said the most important thing was for an unfamiliar group of
bowlers to find some rhythm working as a unit. With the exception of
Johnson, the rest of the seam bowlers have a combined experience of six Tests
and they are the ones who will be charged with taking 20 wickets in
each Test as the Australians aim to cling on to their No. 1 ranking.
"It was again another good opportunity for all the bowlers to play
together," Clarke said. "There's not too many Test matches under their
belt, apart from Mitch (Johnson). The rest of the guys have played a handful
between them so any opportunity you get to bowl as a unit - and that's
all the bowlers in the squad - is going to be good for us."
Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo