Tuesday 18 June 2013 22:01, UK
Australia stand-in skipper George Bailey admits confidence within the squad is low following their early elimination from the Champions Trophy.
Skipper Michael Clarke looks set to hand Australia a much-needed boost by returning for their first pre-Ashes warm-up game against Somerset next week. Clarke has missed all three of Australia's Champions Trophy games due to a back injury he suffered during his team's 4-0 defeat in India, but it looks like the skipper will be fit to play at Taunton in the first of two pre-Ashes warm-up games. "I would imagine he would be fit for that game," said Bailey. "There was a real chance that (Clarke) would have been fit for the Sri Lanka game but with the circumstances of the game, he did not play." Clarke has had to watch on from the sidelines as his team went through almost the worst possible preparation for the series against England. Alastair Cook's men drew first blood in the battle between the two old enemies, defeating Australia by 48 runs in their Champions Trophy opener. Last night's result means Sri Lanka will now play India on Thursday, 24 hours after England host South Africa at the Oval in the other semi-final. Mahela Jayawardene's unbeaten 84 helped Sri Lanka post a score of 253, but for most of his innings he scored slowly - something Australia stumper Matthew Wade sledged the batsman for towards the end of his knock. "It was nothing much, just a bit of banter," Jayawardene said afterwards. "He said something about the way I was batting in the last few overs and I told him not to worry because it was all part of the plan. "I guess I had the last laugh."
