Australian cricket has received a major boost less than a month before the start of the Ashes series with the news that captain Michael Clarke will return to action for New South Wales today, subject to a final fitness test on his injured back.
Clarke skipped the ongoing one-day tour of India to rest the injury, a degenerative condition which has troubled him since he was a teenager.
The 32-year-old batsman has made better progress than expected and will now lead his home state against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield opener in Blacktown.
England arrived in Perth last Friday, and the first Ashes test starts at the Gabba in Brisbane on the 21st of November.
