SYDNEY — Australia captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of next month's One-Day International series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates due to a hamstring injury and is doubtful for the Test series to follow. Australia's leading batsman, Clarke flew home from Zimbabwe recently after aggravating his left hamstring injury during a One-Day International tournament. “Since returning to Australia Michael has had a series of investigations that have confirmed a significant hamstring injury,” Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in an Australian Cricket Board statement Tuesday. “Importantly, the scans have demonstrated tendon damage which complicates the recovery from this injury. “As such, he will not recover in time to be available for the ODI series in the UAE.” Australia's selectors had named Clarke captain of the 15-man squad for the Tests and skipper of the 14-member ODI squad released last week. After a one-off Twenty20 match on Oct. 5, Australia plays Pakistan in the three one-dayers before the first Test starts Oct. 22 in Dubai. “We are hopeful that he will be available for the Test series but this will be determined at a date closer to the first Test,” Kountouris added. Artificial pitch for spin practice Australia has built an artificial pitch at the National Cricket Center in Brisbane to help its batsmen deal with spin-bowling on the slow tracks of the subcontinent, where they have so often struggled in the past. The surface, which is intended to mimic the conditions in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has a concrete base with artificial grass, clay and turf rolled into a compact layer on top. “The artificial base and the bounce is a lot different to what we get in Australia,” Cricket Australia's high performance manager Pat Howard told Brisbane's Courier Mail Tuesday. “I think it's a step in the right direction. Batsmen can practice on a pitch that will play very differently to what we can expect in Australia. “It's a start. At no stage am I going to suggest it's the finished article but I think it will provide a good, solid base to try something different.” Australia's problems with spin bowling are widely considered to have contributed to the humiliating 4-0 series sweep it suffered in India last year. The first players will get a chance to bat and bowl on it this week as Australia prepares for a trip to the UAE to take on Pakistan next month. Howard said he would continue to investigate the possibility of bringing soil from India to more accurately replicate conditions, even if he had discovered that there was a great deal of variety in the make-up of pitches in South Asia. — Agencies
