Clarke could yet face England
AUSTRALIA coach Darren Lehmann says captain Michael Clarke could face England in the Cricket World Cup on Saturday after stepping up his return from injury yesterday.
Opener Clarke, whose participation in the tournament has been jeopardised by a torn hamstring suffered before Christmas, hit 64 as Australia thrashed the United Arab Emirates by 188 runs in a warm-up match.
“If he gets through the fielding and bowls some overs then we’ll see what happens,” said Lehmann.
England’s opening match of the tournament against the joint-hosts in Melbourne starts at 3:30am British time on Saturday.
Clarke, 33, made eight boundaries as Australia hit 304-8 from their 50 overs and then briefly bowled as they dismissed the UAE for 116. They and England are joined in Pool A by New Zealand, Scotland, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.