Clarke finds time in the middle

Two and three-quarter hours, 128 balls and 51 runs. Michael Clarke's return to cricket after hamstring surgery was not quite fluent, but he played a helpful sheet-anchor role at No. 3 for Western Suburbs against Gordon at Chatswood Oval in Sydney while regaining familiarity with the sights, sounds and muscle movements of batting.

Watched by a handy crowd, Clarke moved freely enough to confirm he is on schedule to be fit for Australia's second World Cup match, against Bangladesh in Brisbane on February 21, and during the lunch break stepped out to speak at the end of a week in which talk of his return being under question found its way into the press.

Not surprisingly, Clarke was eager to declare he had no problem with Cricket Australia nor any players or staff in the national team he has led, injury permitting, since 2011. He also spoke about respecting the World Cup fitness deadline set for him by the national selectors, in marked contrast to their dispute earlier in the summer around his best means of gaining time in the middle ahead of the India Tests.

"My goal's to get fit as soon as I can and then there's a timeframe set by CA and the selectors that I certainly understand and respect," Clarke said. "It's just about me trying to take every single step and then as soon as I'm fit I'll be pushing the Australian medical staff to get me on the park and let me play for Australia. They're making sure I'm fit enough and strong enough to take each step as it comes and this is one of those steps.

"I've enjoyed watching the boys have success. Like any injured player you want to get back onto the park and play for your country - that's certainly why I'm still playing this great game, because I love representing Australia, NSW and my grade club Western Suburbs. When you're injured you've got work to do to get back on the park. Being away from the team just makes you hungrier, makes you want to get back out there and play, hence why I'm here at Chatswood Oval trying to play for my club."

When asked directly about speculation that he was on "a collision course" with the selectors and that elements of the team had "moved on" from him, Clarke chose to deflect rather than deny.

"I'm not going to get into it," he said. "It seems like some people in particular are going to write what they want to write. I'm really happy and comfortable with my relationship with Cricket Australia firstly, certainly with my teammates. It's water off a duck's back for me. I've copped it for my whole career so it's another day, another newspaper sold."

Clarke was understandably more eager to speak about his own progress, which appears to be going on without the hiccups or setbacks that would put his Cup place in jeopardy. "The experts seem to think that I'm ahead of schedule, I'm a good week-and-a-half ahead of schedule," Clarke said, "but it's one day at a time for me.

"I'll have treatment this afternoon. It'll be determined a bit by how much running I do throughout the game. I've got strength and a certain amount of running I have to do in my daily program, but they have to see how much running I do in the middle, how many runs I've made, but definitely this afternoon there'll be some sort of rehab plus recovery and see how I pull up in the morning."

George Bailey, who is leading Australia in the ongoing one-day triangular series, said that Clarke's grade workout was an encouraging sign. "(He) wasn't run out, I hope, coming back for the third or sashing back. That's great," Bailey said. "As far as I know it puts him well ahead of the schedule. He will be really happy. More importantly than the runs he scored I think he batted for close on three hours so for him to be able to sustain that physical activity for that long is great for him and really important for us in terms of having him back and leading the side when he is fit and healthy."