Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, will return to the side tomorrow for the first warm-up match of the Ashes campaign.
It was the first piece of good news Australia have had for weeks and seemed to put a spring in the squad’s step as they gathered in Taunton for their meeting with Somerset.
The team’s vice-captain, Brad Haddin, said after a short net practice today: “He is playing, yes. It’s great news, it’s the first game on tour and obviously the Australia captain is pretty excited to play.
“He is in a good spot. He took a good catch and had a bit of a hit, I didn’t watch much because I was in the next net but all in all that is the level we went with and we are ready to go.”
Clarke missed the entire Champions Trophy because of a chronic back condition and there were fears that he would not recover in time for the Ashes.
It was the first session overseen by new coach Darren Lehmann, the replacement for Mickey Arthur, who was sacked yesterday after a series of mishaps in the camp.
Haddin steadfastly refused to dwell on the events which led to the change only 16 days before the Test series against England begins. Australia failed to win any of their three matches in the Champions Trophy and suspended their opening batsman, David Warner, after he punched Joe Root, the England player, in a Birmingham bar.
“He’s been good, day one, training was good, short and sharp so he got a tick today,” Haddin said of Lehmann’s inaugural net in charge.
“He is a good person, he loves the game of cricket, he loves talking about the game, he loves the guys learning about cricket. He has a lot of knowledge. He is very well respected here and at home and is very excited about getting the group together and playing some cricket.”
Apart from Clarke, Australia gave an immediate pointer to their likely Test team. The fast bowlers, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc will play tomorrow along with the left-arm medium fast all-rounder James Faulkner, who has yet to play a Test. With Warner suspended, either Shane Watson or Phil Hughes will open the batting with Ed Cowan.
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“This is our first day on tour,” said Haddin. “It’s not hard to get up for the Ashes campaign. If you can’t be excited and have a smile on your face about what lies ahead you are never going to be up for a cricket contest.”
Meanwhile, former England batsman Marcus Trescothick today expressed surprise at Australia’s decision to change coach so close to the Ashes.
“I was gobsmacked,” admitted the Somerset captain. “You don’t normally see these things go on so close to a series, so for that to happen was a big surprise.”
