'Confident that we can win this Test'

Winning has looked a thing of the past for this touring Australian side. Once the attitude defined their cricket apart from the baggy green, something which skipper Michael Clarke was meticulously trained with.

Now  the leader of an emerging side, he is streets away from reinstating the habit but is ever hopeful and positive like his captains. Perhaps, that is why despite a 0-3 scoreline against him, Clarke sees the possibility of scoring a win in their last chance in the fourth and last Test here.

The series is dead and buried, but Clarke, battling myriad problems on tour including his fitness, would assess the performance on progress.

“Look, I do believe that we’ve learnt a lot over the past three Test matches. I think that will hold us in good stead for this Test. We know the conditions, we know the opposition, we know the areas we need to improve,” Clarke told reporters on the eve of the final Test.

“I don’t enjoy losing. But I think we’re trying everything we can as a team. We’ve seen individual players learn about their games in these conditions and try to adjust. I think we showed a lot more fight in the third Test, and I’m confident that we can go home with a win.” His chronic back problem and the probability of Shane Watson leading the side here has dwarfed the residual interest in the contest. A beaming Clarke, however, could only keep his “fingers crossed.”

“Well, we’ll wait and see. I have another 24 hours, so I’ll make sure that I do everything I can today to make sure that my treatment is done right and I’ll see how I feel in the morning,” he said.

“It’s pretty hard to describe. I’ve had back issues my whole career, since I was 17. It’s the same problem. I have a bulging disc at the moment.  It was really sore during the last game. It’s improved over the past couple of days but it’s still not 100 percent.”

He, however, offered his wholehearted support to Watson. “I think Shane is an important part of our team, there’s no doubt about that. If Shane can come out here and play his best cricket, he’ll have a huge input in this game, that’s for sure.”