Melbourne: Former Australia cricketer Michael Hussey feels that the injured captain Michael Clarke should have been given two more weeks’ time to recover instead of the February 21 deadline set by the selectors to prove his fitness.
Australia lock horns with Bangladesh in their second group encounter in the World Cup on the same day.
“The World Cup is about starting slowly, building momentum and doing enough to get through to the quarter-finals and semi-finals. You want to be playing your best cricket, with your best players, at the back end of the tournament, not so much at the start,” Hussey was quoted as saying by ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.
The 39-year-old Hussey wants Clarke to play towards the end of the tournament even if he misses the first few group encounters.
“I’d be happy for Michael to miss the first four games,” said Hussey, a World Cup winner in 2007.
He added: “He’s obviously a very important player, he’s the captain, he has a lot of experience, he’s played World Cups – we need him. He should be given as much time as possible to get himself right and carried for as long as possible.”
Clarke had injured his right hamstring while playing against India in the first Test in Adelaide last December.
He underwent a successful surgery. (PTI)
