JOIN USFaulkner eyes strong return
James Faulkner, possibly, will make his return to action at a venue where he left the field with a side strain during the tri-series final against England exactly a month ago to the day.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Australia, with the World Cup not too far away, were more concerned about Faulkner’s fitness than they were about Michael Clarke’s recovery by the February 21st deadline set by Cricket Australia. Faulkner has been one Australia’s most influential cricketers in the shorter format in the last couple of years, combining his effective medium pace bowling with his lower-order batting.
Faulkner admitted he feared his World Cup chances were over when he walked off clutching his left lower back.
“When I have had an injury, my knee and my side, they have not been little niggles that (recovered) in one or two weeks. But having said that, I have not been injured that much in my career, touch wood. You have to always try and look at the positives, as hard as it is to swallow at the time. Positive is that hopefully I am back sooner rather than later,” he remarked on Monday.
“Back to the scene of the crime,” he said when asked if he felt nice about his chances of him making a comeback at the WACA. “Anytime you get to play, it is obviously exciting and hopefully on Wednesday, I will have the chance to play for Australia. I am going to have a bowl today, half a dozen overs in the nets and hopefully I am available for selection, and hopefully I get picked. If I get through today, I will be available for selection.
“I bowled a couple of overs pretty much pretty close (to full tilt last week). The difference is in the intensity of an ODI. Look to have a solid hit out today and hopefully recover well and be ready on Wednesday afternoon,” he said.
Faulkner hoped the time off from cricket wouldn’t affect his rhythm. “Hopefully it does not have much of an impact at all. Three or four weeks, you look at it different ways. It has given me some time to freshen up and get my body feeling good again and hopefully it holds me in good shape come the back end of this tournament,” he reasoned.