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Clarke in first test team, but must prove fitness Reuters: Australia have named Michael Clarke in a 12-man squad for the first test against India starting in Brisbane next week, but the hamstrung captain must prove his fitness in a tour match starting on Friday. Clarke re-injured his problematic hamstring during the one-day international series against South Africa and is in a race to be fit for the first match of the four-test series at the Gabba on Dec. 4. The 33-year-old would need to be fit enough to run by Wednesday to have a chance of playing for a Cricket Australia XI in a two-day tour match at the Adelaide Oval starting on Friday, chief selector Rod Marsh said. “My gut feeling all along was that he’d be fit for the test match,” Marsh told reporters in Adelaide. “But now he’s got to play the two-game day here for him to prove his fitness and I think that’s really important because with his recent history, we can’t have him breaking down in the first innings of a test match per se.” Squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson. |