Cricket World Cup: Cricket Australia confirms Michael Clarke will return to action in Sydney grade cricket

MICHAEL Clarke will make his eagerly anticipated comeback from hamstring surgery for Sydney grade club Western Suburbs on Saturday.

Australian training

TWENTY-TWO days in advance of his World Cup fitness deadline, Australian captain Michael Clarke will tomorrow make his eagerly anticipated comeback from hamstring surgery for Sydney grade club Western Suburbs.

There was a feeling Clarke was going to struggle to meet the strict February 21 cut-off to play against Bangladesh that was imposed on him by selectors when the World Cup squad was first announced.

But Clarke is streaks ahead of where medical staff expected him to be as he prepares to strap on the pads for the Magpies on Saturday against Gordon.

Chatswood Oval on Sydney’s leafy north shore is a long way from the coliseum of the MCG, but it shapes as the launching pad for Clarke to realise his dream of leading teammates to glory at a World Cup on home soil.

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Michael Clarke is ahead of schedule in his return from a hamstring injury. Photo by Ryan Pierse.

It’s not the first time greatness has passed through this ground — Sir Donald Bradman once scored 201 at Chatswood and one of cricket’s original superstars Victor Trumper was a resident of the suburb.

Clarke and Australia team physio Alex Kountouris are happy with the progress of the injury.

“I am really happy to be playing for my Grade club this weekend and regard this as a positive step on my road to a return to full fitness, Clarke said.”

“It is exciting to be at this stage where I can consider walking onto a cricket field again and so, thanks to the guidance of the Cricket Australia medical staff and with the work I have put in, the signs are positive.

“But at the same time I know I have to respect the fact that I am on a daily programme and there is no point in us getting too far ahead of ourselves. I know I need to take things one step and one day at a time and so, for now, all I am doing is focusing on things day by day and with a belief in a positive outcome.”

Clarke will play as a batsman only for Wests in their two-day match, and is then scheduled to play for a CA XI against Bangladesh in Brisbane on February 5.

Wests have named only a 10-man side at this point, with official confirmation of Clarke’s presence in the XI expected on Friday.

National Selector Rodney Marsh wanted Clarke to play as a batsman in Australia’s second warm-up game against the UAE on February 11.

At first that seemed an unrealistic wish, given medical opinion has ruled Clarke out of Australia’s World Cup opener on February 14.

Mitchell Marsh represented Wests in his return from a hamstring injury. Pic: Mark Evans.

But Clarke has built incredible momentum with his rehabilitation since going under the knife on December 16.

Selectors want to be sure Clarke will hold up to the rigours of tournament match play — hence the early deadline — but by getting through two-to-three warm-up games, the skipper couldn’t do much more to convince Marsh and coach Darren Lehmann.

Clarke, one of the most professional athletes in Australian sport, has worked tirelessly on his daily rehab schedule and so far everything has gone according to plan.

It’s ironic that Clarke’s CA-approved comeback will come for Wests.

Back at the start of the summer, they were vehemently against the skipper using a grade game to prove his fitness in an unlikely bid to play in the first Test in Brisbane.

Jeff Cook was the Western Suburbs skipper at the time who declared his team’s first innings closed at 0-17 against Parramatta, sacrificing first-innings points in order to give Clarke the chance to bat the following week before the first Test.

Interestingly, Cook has since been pushed out the door and Chris Ridley will skipper Clarke this weekend.

Western Suburbs are dead last in the 20-team Sydney first-grade competition, but nonetheless, it’s been a highly eventful season.

Phillip Hughes, Clarke’s great mate, was a Magpie when he first moved to Sydney from Macksville.

And it was only last weekend that Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh turned out for Wests as he also made his comeback from a right hamstring injury.

Marsh made a solid contribution and then returned for Australia two days later at the SCG.

Clarke will be hoping for a similarly smooth return.

The Australian skipper has been batting in the nets and running at full pace for some time, however he won’t be risked in the field at this early stage.

It’s unlikely he will field for the CA XI against Bangladesh in Brisbane next week either.

Unless Clarke suffers an injury setback, he would appear highly likely to pass his fitness test in the week leading into second World Cup fixture against Bangladesh — also in Brisbane.