Cricket World Cup: Australia announce 15-man squad, Michael Clarke must be fit by February 21
MICHAEL Clarke faces a race against the clock to prove his fitness and maintain his place in Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad.
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MICHAEL Clarke faces a race against the clock to prove his fitness and maintain his place in Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad.
Clarke must recover from hamstring surgery in time for Australia’s pool game against Bangladesh on February 21 or he will be replaced.
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Clarke will be unavailable for at least the first match of the tournament on February 14 against England, but he is confident of taking the field one week later at the ‘Gabba.
“Yep, I definitely am, obviously I’ve got my work cut out — It wont be for a lack of work — I’m confident I’ll be fit,” Clarke said.
“My focus is to get fully fit, however long that takes. I’m not focused on the Bangladesh date. I’m just focused on my day to day training schedule. If this was a tri-series or a tour of West Indies this would be the same for me.
“I want to be our there I still think I’ve got a lot to offer and I want to be able to contribute.”
George Bailey has been retained as vice-captain despite Steve Smith’s promotion to leadership duties in Test cricket and will lead the side in Australia’s tournament opener.
As expected, no shadow batsman has been selected and injured all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is also expected to be fit for the start of the tournament.
“Captain Michael Clarke will lead our World Cup campaign should he recover from his injury. He is one of the world’s best batsmen and we want to give him every chance to prove his fitness for the tournament as important as this one,” National Selector Rod Marsh said.
“Our medical staff are pleased with his progress following hamstring surgery in December as he continues to undergo thorough rehabilitation work with a view to being ready to play an important role in the World Cup.
“We have said that if Michael has not recovered by our second match of the tournament against Bangladesh, we will replace him in the squad. He understands that and is working tirelessly with medical staff to get back to fitness.”
Test bowling stars Ryan Harris and Nathan Lyon have been left out of the squad despite their strong ODI records.
Harris hasn’t played one-day cricket for Australia in three years and young bucks Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and spearhead Mitchell Johnson have been preferred as the four-pronged attack.
“Ryan is 35 and just between all of us here we’d really like to see Ryan go to England and bowl his heart out in Test cricket and keep those Ashes. I think he would have loved to be in the side, bit I think he knows he would have struggled.”
Safe and steady Tasmanian spinner Xavier Doherty has been given the nod over Lyon and young leg-spinners like Cameron Boyce.
“Xavier is a proven one-day bowler. We know exactly what we will get from Xavier ... It’s a little bit difficult these days with just four men allowed outside the circle, it makes it difficult for some spinners. I’ll leave it at that.”
Despite some inconsistent form over the past few months, Glenn Maxwell has been selected and will play a key role given the versatility his off-spin adds to his unique hitting ability.
“Maxy is Maxy. We’ve got the utmost faith in him as a cricketer and a bloke. We are confident he will do well. Be positive.”
It’s a landmark moment in the career of fast bowling prodigy Cummins, given the 21-year-old has been to hell and back over the years with injury struggles.
All-rounders Marsh, James Faulkner and Shane Watson have been picked — although Marsh will miss much of the one-day tri-series with a right hamstring problem.
“Mitchell is progressing well with his rehab and we expect him to be available at some stage during the tri-series with the aim to have him well prepared for the World Cup,” Marsh said.
The 15-man World Cup squad will also cover the one-day tri-series, with no shadow players picked for Clarke or Marsh.
Although there could always be the prospect of extra fast bowlers potentially being used during the tri-series to help relieve workloads.
Australia is aiming to record a fifth World Cup victory.
Australian squad: Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey (vc), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Xavier Doherty.
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