With the series already lost, the sole motivation the Australia as they go into the Delhi Test match is to end their tour with a win under their belt. But they gear up for the contest unsure of whether their captain will take field to lead them to that win.
On the eve of the match, Michael Clarke is not sure if he’ll recover in time from his chronic back problem to play the fourth Test. “We’ll wait and see. I have another 24 hours so I’ll make sure I get the best treatment I can and I’ll see how I feel like in the morning,” Clarke told the reporters in the pre-match presser.
Explaining the nature and the intensity of his injury, Clarke said, “I have a bulging disc right now. It is a problem I’ve been dealing with since I was 17 and I’ve always had to make sure I do my rehab properly right through my career. It was pretty sore after the last Test but it has improved over the last couple of days. However, it’s still not a 100 per cent, it’s still quite sore.”
While the Aussie captain wasn’t confident about his participation in the Test, he backed the team to make the series 1-3 at the end of it.
“I think we’re trying everything we can. We’ve improved throughout this series and players have learned about their individual games in these conditions. I think we showed a lot of fight in the third Test and I’m confident that we can go home with a win in Delhi.
“The experience from the first three Tests will hold us in good stead in this match. We know the conditions, the opposition and we know the areas we need to improve on. If we play our best cricket, I have no doubt we can win this match,” said Clarke.
This tour has gone as wrong as it possibly can for Australia with defeats, injuries and disciplinary issues creeping up. However, while concerned over his team’s compounding troubles, Clarke chose to see it as a massive learning experience for his young team, one that will help them improve as cricketers.
“You go on a lot of tours in international cricket and there have always been injuries and new players in and around the team. It takes them time and experience to learn about different conditions around the world and this tour is no different.
“I’ve been to India a few times and I’ve only managed to win one Test series here in my career so far. There have been challenges on this tour for us but I’m sure the team will learn from this experience and every single one of us will take something back from here regardless of the result,” he said.
Besides Clarke’s own fitness related uncertainty, Australia also have to decide on whether Matthew Wade is fit to be recalled in the playing XI. While Clarke confirmed Wade as their first-choice wicketkeeper, he didn’t rule out the idea of playing the experienced Brad Haddin as a specialist batsman if Wade was fit to play.
“The advantage we have is that they’re both good enough to play as batsman alone and that’s something we’ll need to think about. If Matthew Wade is fully fit, I’m pretty sure he’ll be our No.1 wicketkeeper. We’ll see how he pulls up before selecting the XI,” Clarke said.
