Auckland, March 14: Ricky Ponting has called Michael Clarke a definite starter for Friday’s first Test against New Zealand in Wellington. Clarke has been in Sydney since leaving the squad last Monday to deal with the breakdown of his engagement to Lara Bingle and is yet to confirm his return with Cricket Australia.
However, Ponting said “Michael is definitely coming over”. “He’ll get himself prepared for the first Test,” Ponting said after losing the final match of the one-day series. “It’s obviously been a tough time for him the last few days at home.”
Cricket Australia and Ponting have backed Clarke, the vice-captain, during an eventful week and are looking forward to his return. “All the guys here have given as much support as possible and he was given as much time as he needed to get everything sorted at home,” Ponting said.
“He’ll come back for us as the vice-captain and an experienced player in the Test side. We’ll give him as much support as he needs when he joins the group again and make sure he’s ready to go.”
Phillip Hughes, Steven Smith and Simon Katich will fly to Wellington on Monday and Clarke is expected to be with them. Clarke was due to speak with Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s deputy, over the weekend to finalise the details.
——–Agencies