The leading test run scorer this year put himself through batting and fielding practice on Tuesday and sounded confident he would be fit to start the match. "I'm still pretty positive I'll be right for tomorrow," he told a media conference. "I haven't run at 100 percent but I've certainly built up over the last three days." Clarke said he was "improving every day" but would have to wait until the morning of the match to see if there was any reaction to Tuesday's practice.
"I did a fair bit of running today in the indoor nets. A decision can't be made today," he added. "I really need to wait and see how I pull up tomorrow morning." Waiting in the wings should Clarke not make the test is top-order batsman Usman Khawaja, though coach Mickey Arthur was leaning towards the skipper taking the field in front of a huge crowd at the MCG. "If I was a betting man I'd bet on Michael Clarke leading the team out on Boxing Day," he said.