Clarke headed in 'right direction'

Michael Clarke joined the Australian team at training on Saturday morning, which has given them a boost in the lead-up to the first Test starting at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. Brad Haddin, who will captain the side should Clarke not be declared fit, said Clarke was "going in the right direction", and that he himself had not given a thought to captaining the side. Australia had a practice session in the afternoon, but Haddin said Clarke had already had "a good hit" in the morning.

"Michael's been strong for the team for a long time," Haddin said. "I think he's a tremendous captain, and we want our captain out there playing. All signs are that he's going in the right direction, and like everyone else, we want Michael out there leading our team in the first hour of play here in Adelaide." Clarke joined the team for fielding practice, and did not have any apparent trouble with his hamstring.

There was more, Haddin said, that had lifted the players' spirits - their training session at Park 25 Cricket Ground on Friday, their first after Phillip Hughes' death. He was happy to feel that "cricket hurt" in his legs again. "We just got back to cricket," Haddin said when asked if coming back felt normal. "We can try to complicate it as much as we want, but we went back to cricket training. Everybody did what he needed to do yesterday. We got a bit of volume, and a bit of miles in our legs. We needed to feel that cricket hurt in our legs again. So we got that yesterday, and yeah it was a good day back training."

It wasn't entirely normal, though. Australia began their first session with fun and games. "If you were watching closely, everyone was dancing," Haddin said. "When the music stopped we had to dance. When it was on we had to run. So that wasn't normal. But it was good fun. It was interesting to see the generation changes, and different moves. Ryno [Harris] and I did the waltz, and Davey Warner was doing the worm."

Warner and Harris are two players that have been in focus. Harris is coming back from a career-threatening injury, and Warner is perhaps one of the most affected by Hughes' death. Haddin said Harris was looking fit, and that Warner could take his time.

"Ryno was good yesterday," Haddin said. "He had good zip. He was his normal negative self [laughs], bowling and asking if he was doing the right thing, asking whether it was coming through good. He had that Ryan Harris zip. I was lucky enough to face him for a good 20 minutes, and it was tough work, and it was good to see him back to playing and bowling the way Ryan does. He won't think he was bowling very good, but he had that zip and nip back, which was really good."

Warner struggled during the training session on Friday, needing attention from the team psychologist Michael Lloyd. He was at the nets on Saturday, but there have been suggestions Shaun Marsh might be in as cover for him. When asked about how Warner was, Haddin said: "There was no pressure on anyone yesterday. There were no expectations on anyone regarding what you had to do or what you needed to get out of the net session. If you needed to take half an hour or 10 minutes or five minutes … there were no expectations. It was all individualised, and I didn't count times on how guys were in the nets."

The Australian bowlers were seen bowling several bouncers at their batsmen during centre-wicket practice at Park 25. It seemed like a conscious effort to remove the hesitation before the Test. While Haddin did not get drawn into a discussion about bouncers, you could tell there was an attempt to try and believe that this Test is not unlike others.

"I think once we are out there, we will be there to play our style of cricket," Haddin said, when asked if there had been second thoughts about Australia's aggressive brand of cricket. "I don't think we have to complicate and look too deeply into things. It's about getting out there and playing the game of cricket. Executing our skills under pressure. It's just a game of cricket, and we will play the brand of cricket we have always played. We will get a cricket game here on Tuesday. You'll enjoy it, and so will we.

"We get back to playing the game we love. It's a great game, and been good to so many of us. Our job is to go and play cricket, and to enjoy that. We need the support of the Australian public and everyone leading into this first Test. We're looking forward to playing, and we need the help of everyone to enjoy the moment, and just enjoy the game of cricket."