Skip to content

Australia captain Michael Clarke in fitness race ahead of Pakistan series

Image: Michael Clarke: Fitness race ahead of first Test against Pakistan.

Australia captain Michael Clarke is working overtime as he strives to be fit for next month's two-Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

The 33-year-old will fly out five days ahead of his team-mates to step up an intensive rehabilitation programme as he seeks to recover from a hamstring injury - the latest in a string of fitness problems - that saw him sent home early from a recent tour of Zimbabwe.

Clarke has already been ruled out of the ODI fixtures in the Middle East but remains hopeful of featuring in the first Test in Dubai on October 22.

He told Cricket Australia's official website: "It's going to take some time to work out what's perfect for me but we believe getting there a couple of days before everybody else and allowing my body to acclimatise and recover after a long flight is a good start.

Healthy

"So I'm flying over on (September) 30th to give myself every opportunity to be fit and if I thought I wasn't going to be fit (for the first Test) I wouldn't even get on that plane.

"In overall terms, I feel as fit and as healthy as I've ever felt and I'm only 33 so I feel I've got a lot of cricket left in my body."

Latest Cricket Stories

Clarke declined to declare himself a certain starter, should he be passed fit, but dismissed suggestions from pundits that he should consider giving up one-day cricket to prolong his career.

"I know there's been some talk about whether I should walk away from one-day cricket or how long I can play for, but I've had my back issues since I was 17 and I've managed to miss only one test match out of 105 through my career," he added.

"I've also missed a few one-dayers but touch wood, to date I haven't missed any major tournaments.

"It's all part of playing sport at the highest level. You're going to get injured and it's about making sure you do the work to get back on the park.

"While I've still got that drive to do that work and the love of the game I've got, I see no reason to consider walking away."

Around Sky