Captain Michael Clarke is a doubt for the fourth Test in India after aggravating an ongoing back problem.
India claimed a series victory over Australia at Mohali on Monday, the hosts’ six-wicket win putting them 3-0 up in the four-Test series. And the tourists could head into the final Test, starting in Delhi on Friday, without Clarke after he revealed his back injury had flared up.
“(My back is) pretty sore and I’m fortunate to have a few days before the next Test so I’ll spend as much time as I can with (team physio Alex Kountouris) to get it right,” the 31-year-old said.
“It’s the same problem I’ve had since I was 17 years of age and I’ve been trying to manage it through my career. When my back goes on me like this, it’s about plenty of treatment, listening to the expert and trying to get it right for the next Test.”
With Shane Watson returning for final match, Clarke said he would only play if his body was right and endorsed the powerful batsman as his replacement as skipper, should he be unavailable.
“I will be doing everything I can to give myself the best chance, that’s for sure,” he said. “I haven’t missed a Test match due to injury so far in my career and I wouldn’t like this to be the first one.
“If I can’t perform at my best and I’m going to let the team down, I won’t be taking the field. It’s very positive that Watto is coming back and if I’m unavailable because of my fitness, I would imagine that Watto would be captain, that’s for sure.”
Clarke conceded that Australia had a problem breaking a big partnership in each Test so far and isolated some key differences that had contributed to the gulf between his charges and the Indians.
“I would like to see one of us in the top five or six make a hundred and I think that’s probably one of the major differences at the moment with India having success in that regard,” Clarke said.
“They’re scoring a lot more hundreds and when they are making hundreds they are making big hundreds, whilst at this stage we are making a lot of starts and a lot of fifties. The other area is that their spinners are doing a fantastic job – there’s no doubt about that.”
India claimed a series victory over Australia at Mohali on Monday, the hosts’ six-wicket win putting them 3-0 up in the four-Test series. And the tourists could head into the final Test, starting in Delhi on Friday, without Clarke after he revealed his back injury had flared up.
“(My back is) pretty sore and I’m fortunate to have a few days before the next Test so I’ll spend as much time as I can with (team physio Alex Kountouris) to get it right,” the 31-year-old said.
“It’s the same problem I’ve had since I was 17 years of age and I’ve been trying to manage it through my career. When my back goes on me like this, it’s about plenty of treatment, listening to the expert and trying to get it right for the next Test.”
With Shane Watson returning for final match, Clarke said he would only play if his body was right and endorsed the powerful batsman as his replacement as skipper, should he be unavailable.
“I will be doing everything I can to give myself the best chance, that’s for sure,” he said. “I haven’t missed a Test match due to injury so far in my career and I wouldn’t like this to be the first one.
“If I can’t perform at my best and I’m going to let the team down, I won’t be taking the field. It’s very positive that Watto is coming back and if I’m unavailable because of my fitness, I would imagine that Watto would be captain, that’s for sure.”
Clarke conceded that Australia had a problem breaking a big partnership in each Test so far and isolated some key differences that had contributed to the gulf between his charges and the Indians.
“I would like to see one of us in the top five or six make a hundred and I think that’s probably one of the major differences at the moment with India having success in that regard,” Clarke said.
“They’re scoring a lot more hundreds and when they are making hundreds they are making big hundreds, whilst at this stage we are making a lot of starts and a lot of fifties. The other area is that their spinners are doing a fantastic job – there’s no doubt about that.”
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