Clarke does it all in warm-up match

Bat, bowl and field – Michael Clarke did it all at Allan Border Field on Thursday. The Australia skipper ticked off another major milestone on his journey back to full fitness just nine days out from the World Cup opener against England.

The one thing missing from the encounter was any serious test of his ability to sprint under match conditions. Clarke was never required to seriously exert himself while either batting or fielding, although his bowling was an unexpected bonus. 

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In a 47-minute stay at the crease Clarke hit six fours in scoring 34 from 36 balls. He jogged singles and pushed harder for twos but was never really stretched. He wasn't required to sprint to make his ground, and didn’t have to chase balls in the outfield.

Clarke spent 32 overs in the field – bowling the 30th and 32nd of them – with most of the rest stationed in the sips cordon. He also fielded at short cover or short mid-wicket and spent a few overs on the boundary at deep extra cover where he was most active signing autographs and taking selfies with the fans who quickly converged on their hero.

It all had more of a village cricket atmosphere than a serious examination of Australia's most scrutinised hamstrings a week out from the game's 50-over showpiece tournament.

Clarke opened the batting in pursuit of the Bangladeshis total of 193 and played all the shots – square drives, front-foot punches through cover, turning fine off his pads, dancing down the wicket to the spinners.

In the end, it was the leg-spin of Sabbir Rahman that ended his entertaining innings, courtesy of a faint edge behind, with Clarke walking before the umpire could raise his finger.

He lost his wicket during the first over he faced from the leggie, but this trial was always about Clarke's fitness, rather than his form. In that respect, he's ticked all the boxes.

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After his dismissal he was immediately crossing the road from Allan Border Field to the Bupa National Cricket Centre where he was on a treatment table in the Sports Science, Sports Medicine department.

Clarke had been expected to play a "limited" role in the field for this unofficial match between a Cricket Australia XI made up of the national skipper and a bunch of young guns and the touring Bangladesh outfit, but his bowling was unexpected.

Clarke had earlier moved forward and to his left well to take a sharp catch to dismiss the tourists' skipper Shakib Al Hasan.

Bangladesh struggled early and lost regular wickets, slipping to 5-57 before a partnership between Mahmudullah and Shabbir Rahman got them back in the contest.

Their stand was helped along by some ordinary bowling from Victoria Bushrangers and Perth Scorchers leg-spinner James Muirhead, who served up a selection of half-trackers, wides and no-balls to go for 42 from a four-over spell.

NSW Blues rookie Harry Conway – who had been listed as the 12th man, but this was not a first-class fixture – broke that partnership after 64 runs, picking up both batsmen in two balls.

CA XI skipper Ashton Turner picked up two wickets early on and another two later in the game to finish with 4-30 from his 10 overs.

Clarke only met most of his new teammates earlier this week and was quick to set the example for the next generation, out early for jogging and stretches before play.

As soon as Bangladesh skipper Shakib won the toss and elected to bat, Clarke was off to the far side of Allan Border Field for some more strenuous jogging and sprinting under the watchful eye of Bupa Support Team physio Dave Bailey.

Cricket Australia XI: Jaron Morgan, James Pierson (wk), Michael Clarke, Ashton Turner (c), Will Bosisto, Sean Willis, Ben McDermott, Alex Gregory, James Muirhead, Timm Van Der Gugten, David Moody. Harry Conway 12th.

Bangladesh XI: Anamul Bijoy Haque, Soumya Sarker, Monimal Hoque, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al-Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossin, Taijul Islam. Al Amin 12th.