Clarke opens up on his hamstring issues

Clarke hasn’t felt his hamstring since surgery

Australian captain Michael Clarke has opened up on his hamstring issues last year ahead of the second Test against the West Indies. Mentally, he was also struggling to cope up with the loss of his best friend Phillip Hughes prior to the tournament.

"For six months before [Adelaide] I had big dramas with hamstring troubles and my back was playing up," Clarke said. "After I had my third hamstring incident in six months, there was a chance I'd never be able to play at my best again. And if I wasn't able to play at my best, I wouldn't be good enough to play for Australia.

"I had to spend some time speaking to hamstring experts, back experts and obviously the surgeon about what we thought was best to give me a chance to keep playing. My body feels outstanding at the moment. I'll always have - my back is my back. I've had degeneration in my back for my whole career but I've managed it. But since surgery I haven't felt my hamstring. Long may that continue.

"I think my main focus at the time was getting through the passing of Phillip and supporting his family as much as I could," Clarke said. "And then when I was doing that I guess I made the decision to have surgery on my hamstring to give myself any chance, in my opinion, of making it back to the World Cup. Once I had that surgery, my mindset then was 100% on getting fit for the World Cup.

"So I didn't get too many days to stop and reflect, which I think for me personally was probably a good thing. I just think when you lose someone close it's hard to not think about them but if you've got something else on your mind, sometimes that can drive you. And that's probably the way I tried to use it.

"The fact that I was able to get myself fit for that World Cup, help the team make the final, help the team win the final, I was really proud of myself to be able to do that. It was certainly a standout achievement for me through my career. I don't think there was too many people who thought I was going to make it. That was really satisfying. And I was really proud of the guys for the way they worked so hard through that whole campaign. To get that result was icing on the cake for what was a tough summer off the field."

He also spoke about the injury suffered by Chris Rogers which has ruled him out of the second Test too. "There's never a right time to get injured, is there?" Clarke said. "Bucky's a strong character, though. He's a very experienced player. So I think he understands where he's at. First and foremost he's got to get himself fit and healthy. I think over the last week or so he's certainly seen the other side of that. At first you're so disappointed that you've been ruled out of a Test match but I think now, knowing he's still a little bit dizzy and he's still not 100%, he knows the doc has made the right decision.

"I love the game of cricket but it is just that, it is just a game, and his health and safety is the number one priority right now. Once he's fit he'll be ready to go again. Chris has scored a lot of runs in England, knows the conditions as an experienced top order batter. It helps a lot over in those conditions against a pretty good attack."