Clarke stays quiet on Australia's XI

It’s the rain that sees south-east Queensland awash that convinced Australia captain Michael Clarke to keep his powder dry on the eve of his team’s scheduled World Cup match against Bangladesh.

Clarke, whose return to international cricket after a two-month lay-off after hamstring surgery might be delayed by forces that lay beyond his steely will to alter, said the national selectors had settled on an XI to take the field at the Gabba tomorrow afternoon.

But the growing doubt as to whether the relentless rain will allow either team that luxury, or if it will stop in time for the minimum match requirement of 20 overs per side to be met, convinced Clarke he would not reveal that line-up at today’s pre-match media conference.

Quick Single: Brisbane drenched by wild weather

Reports that, in addition to Clarke returning to the team in place of stand-in skipper George Bailey, fast bowler Pat Cummins would be preferred to fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood will be rendered redundant if no coin toss takes place and no team sheets are submitted.

For that reason, Clarke used his public appearance to share his team’s concern for the people of northern Australia who are bearing the brunt of violent weather systems along the nation’s northern and north-east coasts rather than confirm details of a playing XI that might not play.

“We’ve selected a team but I’m not going to announce it today in case the format of the game changes,” Clarke told journalists gathered in a function room at the Gabba while rain fell heavily on the other side of a large bank of windows.

“So if it becomes a 40-over game, a 20-over game or whatever it is, that gives the selectors options if they want to change the team.

“So I don’t think it would be smart of me to announce that right now.

“As much as we would like to get out on that field and continue our form in the World Cup, we need to realise how bad this cyclone is and care most about the people of Queensland.

“To make sure everybody is healthy and safe and our prayers are with a lot of people throughout the state – and then we’ll worry about the cricket tomorrow.

“If we get on, we’ll be 100 per cent ready there’s no doubt about that.”

The likelihood of any play actually happening appears incresingly unlikely, particularly after Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell Jr said the rain was unlikely to abate until some time after the scheduled conclusion of tomorrow’s match.

“I am not expecting any play,” Mitchell told News Ltd. “It doesn’t look good at all. I’ve had a look at the radar and the rain we are copping in Brisbane isn’t going anywhere until after midnight tomorrow night.”

Both Clarke and Australia coach Darren Lehmann, who is now based in Brisbane with his family, have been at pains to point out that the frustration of a weather-affected cricket match pales alongside the damage and upheaval the storm fronts have inflicted.

But Clarke has also taken time to speak to his team about the unique challenges that weather can pose to players’ mindset when it seems unlikely a game is possible only to be told by match officials the coast is clear and a start time is imminent.

That caution is largely being exercised because of all the venues in world cricket, the Gabba is among the best-designed to cope with continued heavy rain and could be ready to host an international match within an hour or so of the rain stopping tomorrow.

Clarke saw the venue’s remarkable recuperative capacity first-hand during the opening Test of last summer’s Ashes series when a savage hail storm lashed the Gabba and looked certain to have ended play for the day, only for the sun to re-appear and the match to resume with barely a hiccup.

“I’ve seen it a number of times in my career when you look outside the window, especially in Brisbane, and it looks like you’re not going to play,” Clarke said.

“I think we saw that against England in the first Ashes Test (last summer) as well, and then an hour later you’re on the field so I think that’s credit to the people that look after the ground here (in Brisbane).

“The drainage facility here is as good as anywhere in the world.

“My mindset, and the team’s mindset, is to make sure we’re as well prepared as we can be, and then tomorrow our mind is the game is going to go ahead (and) up until we’re told that the game is off then we’re expecting to play.

“Whether that’s a 50-over game or a Twenty20 doesn’t bother us, we are and will be as well prepared as we can be.”

However, regardless of how quickly the playing surface soaks up the water, the game’s playing conditions dictate that a match cannot begin while rain is falling.

And it is a break in the incessant rain that has drenched Brisbane since yesterday afternoon and is forecast to continue with the likelihood of thunderstorms tomorrow that looms as the biggest impediment to the match going ahead as scheduled.

Football Federation Australia announced earlier today that this evening’s planned A-League fixture between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium had been postponed due to the dangerous weather.

The Australian team’s planned training session at the Gabba this afternoon was transferred to the indoor training facility at the Bupa National Cricket Centre, while Bangladesh’s only hit-out in Brisbane ahead of the scheduled match was conducted at the Gabba’s cramped indoor nets.

In a statement released this afternoon, the ICC confirmed they were working closely with authorities in Queensland in relation to the extreme weather that has placed the game in doubt but no decision as to when or if it goes ahead will be made until tomorrow.

“As there is no reserve day for pool matches, we will continue to prepare in the hope that the match can go ahead,” the statement says.

“The ICC match officials will make a decision on the match tomorrow (Saturday) based on conditions at the time.

“The match can still go ahead with a delayed start if necessary.

“A match can be successfully completed if each side has minimum of 20 overs which means that it is still possible to achieve a result with a start after the scheduled innings break.”

If no play is possible and both teams share a point, the battle for which nation finishes on top of Pool A is likely to be decided by next weekend’s blockbuster match between the in-form New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park in Auckland.

It would also mean Bangladesh – after their first-up win over Afghanistan in Canberra earlier this week – will gain a further break on fellow Pool A aspirants England and Sri Lanka who are both still chasing their first tournament points.

Clarke also dismissed suggestions the weather’s intervention would prove a welcome delay and provide him with an additional week to pursue his recovery from the hamstring surgery he underwent less than 10 weeks ago.

The 33-year-old emphatically stated he was fit to play now.

He also moved to clarify the recent comments from his close friend and vocal public supporter Shane Warne who claimed in a television interview last week that the February 21 fitness deadline handed to Clarke was imposed by the selectors to try and “break” the skipper.

Clarke claimed he had contacted the former Test leg-spinner to clarify his remarks and added that Warne’s comments had been taken “out of context”.

“I’ve always supported Warney, he’s been a big supporter of mine and he is a good friend,” Clarke said today.

“I think Shane might have been taken out of context with what he said the other day because I’ve obviously spoken to him since then.

“I think what he was trying to say is the (Australia team) medical staff have pushed me to the limit which is a great thing.

“(Bupa Support Team Physiotherapist) Alex Kountouris made it very clear to me from my first day of rehab that we were going to push as hard as we can to make sure that whatever (I) have to do come game day (that I’ve) done it, (my) body’s been through it and (I) can handle it.

“I feel I’m as fit and as strong as I’ve been in a long time.

“Again that doesn’t guarantee you don’t get injured, especially in this sport when you’re pushing your body at 100 miles an hour.

“But by the work I’ve been put through, that gives me my best chance of being able to play for Australia for a lot longer.”