ADELAIDE: Michael Clarke was passed fit to lead Australia in the emotional opening Test against India in Adelaide, with the late Phillip Hughes symbolically named 13th man.
Clarke had been in doubt for the series opener starting today due to recurring hamstring
problems and the heart-wrenching death of his close friend Hughes.
He was not at the traditional captain’s pre-match media conference at the Adelaide Oval, but fast bowler Mitchell Johnson confirmed the skipper would lead Australia in what will be an emotional day. “It’s a huge boost to have Clarkey back in and playing for us,” said Johnson. “I think with his captaincy he’s shown how strong he’s been over the last couple of weeks with the tragedy that we’ve had.”
A number of tributes are planned for the Test with the Australian players wearing Hughes’ Test cap number 408 on their playing shirts, and black armbands in honour of their former team-mate.
Before play, the Australian and Indian teams will stand before a large 408 painted on the oval’s playing surface as they observe a video tribute, narrated by former Australia Test captain and prominent commentator Richie Benaud.
Johnson said the availability of Clarke, who has been widely praised for his leadership during the Hughes crisis, would help the team cope.
“He’s a strong leader. He has been an aggressive leader,” said the fast bowler.
“He’s a huge boost for us in our line-up. I really hope that he can go out there and score a lot of runs for us. We all know that he’s really keen to do that. He’s a huge part and we’re glad that he’s back.”
Dhoni fails to return
Virat Kohli revealed that he will lead India in place of injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni and has urged his players to adopt a positive mindset.
There had been speculation that regular skipper Dhoni would resume the captaincy after his late arrival in Australia as he recovers from a fractured thumb.
Dhoni batted in the nets on Sunday but the tourists decided to give him another week to recover. It means Wriddhiman Saha is likely to take the gloves.
“Yes, I will be leading India tomorrow,” said Kohli. “We have plans in mind, we have plans we want to achieve. We have come here with a mindset of winning the series rather than going out there and seeing what happens, that is not an option.”
Just four months ago, the Indians, under Dhoni, capitulated 3-1 in England where the five-Test series finished with a colossal innings and 244-run defeat at The Oval as the tourists collapsed to 94 all out in their second innings.
“It’s just another two months in life, nothing bigger than that,” said Kohli, who scored just 134 runs in the series at a paltry 13.40 average. “I don’t know why that England phase is still spoken about, most of us don’t want to remember it. If you keep sulking about the past there’s no way you’re going to move on in life and that’s something I believe in.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2014.
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