da betobet： Michael Clarke is confident his latest back injury is improving butAustralia cannot expect him to take much of a bowling load if he playsnext week’s first Test
Brydon Coverdale in Potchefstroom20-Feb-2009
Michael Clarke: “The spasms have stopped, it’s still a little bit inflamed. It’s definitely calmingdown © Getty Images
Michael Clarke is confident his latest back injury is improving butAustralia cannot expect him to take much of a bowling load if he playsnext week’s first Test. Clarke was ruled out of Australia’s onlywarm-up match, which started in Potchefstroom on Friday, and while histeam-mates toiled in the field he batted in the nets and ran for thefirst time on the trip.”It’s getting there slowly,” Clarke said after play. “I had a good battoday. Since arriving in South Africa it’s improved slowly every day.I’m getting plenty of treatment from the physio, I’m working into morebatting every day. Hopefully I’ll be able to have a bit of a field, abit 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 injuryis a new and unrelated one. It means that there is a little bit ofuncertainty about his recovery time but he said there had beendefinite 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 calmingdown. It’s completely different [to my previous injury]. It’s adifferent area. It’s higher up in my back, it’s sort of behind myribs, 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, makingAustralia’s spin selection all the more important. The legspinnerBryce McGain was attacked relentlessly by the South African BoardPresident’s XI on the first day and finished with 2 for 126 from 19overs, while Nathan Hauritz was rested.”There wasn’t much spin out there for Bryce today, on a very flatwicket and fast outfield,” Clarke said. “I don’t think he should taketoo much from the result. I think he’ll be happy that he’s bowled afew overs, got a few overs under his belt and hopefully if he gets theopportunity, will look forward to the first Test.”The fast men were a little more difficult to dominate, particularlythe impressive Ben Hilfenhaus, who bowled better than his 1 for 60from 20 overs suggested. He entered the match as the fast bowler leastlikely to play in Johannesburg – Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle andDoug 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 ofbowlers to find some rhythm working as a unit. With the exception ofJohnson, the rest of the seam bowlers have a combined experience of six Testsand they are the ones who will be charged with taking 20 wickets ineach Test as the Australians aim to cling on to their No. 1 ranking.”It was again another good opportunity for all the bowlers to playtogether,” Clarke said. “There’s not too many Test matches under theirbelt, apart from Mitch (Johnson). The rest of the guys have played a handfulbetween them so any opportunity you get to bowl as a unit – and that’sall the bowlers in the squad – is going to be good for us.”