Clarke, Warner to skip warm-up game against India A

Chennai, Feb 15 (IANS) Australian captain Michael Clarke and dashing opener David Warner will be skipping the warm-up game against India, starting here Saturday, since they are still recuperating from their injuries.

Clarke Friday said he and Warner would work off the field to get ready for the four-match series starting Feb 22.

“I do have a team for the match: Cowan, Watson, Hughes, Khawaja, Henriques, Wade, Siddle, Starc, Lyon, Doherty and Agar,” said Clarke.

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“The reason for skipping this game is that David Warner and I were injured prior to coming here and it’s in the best interests of the team and us as individuals that we continue to do our work off the field. We’re going to use these three days to make sure we are prepared for the first day of the Test match.”

Clarke said he has evolved as a cricketer and was happy to lead the side.

“I guess – some good times, when the team has had a lot of success and I have scored some runs, and some tough times, when I have been dropped from the Test team and I didn’t know if I was going to get back into the team. Now the positive is that the team is playing well and I am able to captain Australia.

“So there have been plenty of ups and downs through my career – some moments that I will cherish forever and some moments in my career that have made me the player I am today. When I was dropped from the Australian Test team, without going through what I went through at the time, I don’t think I would be the player that I am today,” he said.