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Clarke to play warm-up match against UAE

Australian captain is looking to intensify his push to be fit for the event

Melbourne: Australia captain Michael Clarke could make his comeback to competitive cricket against the UAE in a pre-World Cup warm up game on Wednesday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Clarke is looking to intensify his push to be fit for the World Cup and potentially Australia’s opening match against England on the opening day of the tournament at the MCG.

Coach Darren Lehmann said that if Clarke gets through training on Tuesday he will play against UAE in the final warm-up game before the World Cup starts, Australian daily The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday.

“Michael, if he gets through training tomorrow hopefully, he will play the trial game on Wednesday so that is a pleasing thing for us,” the Australian coach told the Sydney paper.

“He is training the house down on the training track so now it’s a case of getting him up to speed with the fielding and away he goes from there,” Lehmann said.

Clarke’s return to the side, should he be fit for the England game, appears most likely to be at the expense of one-day captain George Bailey.

Meanwhile, the UAE captain Mohammed Tauqir has said that the team was looking forward to take up the mighty challenge against the Australians on Tuesday. During a media interaction on Sunday, the UAE captain had categorically said that the team was undaunted at the task on playing hosts Australia at the imposing MCG. Tauqir has reiterated that the UAE team players were rearing to go in what is a dream come true for the boys. “We are well prepared and have trained hard to put up a good show,” he said.

Before leaving for New Zealand, the team coach Aqib Javed had told Khaleej Times that they were going for the World Cup to win every match. “It is not only about me but every member of the team has decided that we are not going to the World Cup only to participate, but to win every match,” he had said. Now, the team seems determined to make Clarke’s comeback a tough task in the last warm up match before the action begins.