Michael Clarke, on Sunday

Sydney: Desperate to have the inspirational but injury-ravaged Michael Clarke during next month’s ODI World Cup, Australia on Sunday named him as the skipper of their 15-member squad for the marquee event and gave him time until February 21 to prove his fitness.

The World Cup, to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, begins February 14 and before that the squad named will play in the tri-series against India and England, starting January 16.

Clarke, who is battling a nagging hamstring problem besides back spasms, will lead the Australian team in the World Cup only, that too if he passes the fitness test.

“Captain Michael Clarke will lead our World Cup campaign should he recover from his injury. He is one of the world’s best batsmen and we want to give him every chance to prove his fitness for a tournament as important as this one,” national selector Rod Marsh said in a statement.

“Our medical staff are pleased with his progress following hamstring surgery in December and he continues to undergo thorough rehabilitation work with a view to being ready to play an important role in the World Cup.

“We have said that if Michael has not recovered by our second match of the tournament against Bangladesh on 21 February, we will replace him in the squad. He understands that and is working tirelessly with medical staff to get back to fitness,” he added.

The standby player for Clarke, who has gone to the extent of casting doubts on his cricketing future after the latest breakdown, has not been named as yet. George Bailey would captain the side in his absence.

“This group has played a major role in getting Australia back to No.1 in ODI cricket and we feel we have the right mix of players to represent our country on the biggest stage of all,” Marsh said.

“These players have really gelled over the past 18 months with their preparation geared towards giving us the best chance of winning a World Cup on home soil.”

Marsh said Western Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is on track to be fit for the start of the World Cup.

“Mitchell is progressing well with his rehab and we expect him to be available at some stage during the tri-series with the aim to have him well prepared for the World Cup.”

Xavier Doherty has been selected as the squad’s specialist spinner for the tournament. “Xavier is a reliable spin bowler who we know can perform well in the 50-over format. We also have other spin options in Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith and Michael Clarke if required,” Marsh said.

Clarke has he is confident of being fit for the marquee tournament by February 21.

“Yep, I definitely am, obviously I’ve got my work cut out — It won’t be for a lack of work — I’m confident I’ll be fit,” Clarke said after the team’s announcement.

“My focus is to get fully fit, however long that takes. I’m not focused on the Bangladesh date. I’m just focused on my day to day training schedule. If this was a tri-series or a tour of West Indies this would be the same for me,” he said.

“I want to be out there… I still think I’ve got a lot to offer and I want to be able to contribute,” he added.

Australia are aiming to claim a record fifth World Cup after winning the tournament in India in 1987, England in 1999, South Africa in 2003 and the West Indies in 2007.

Australia begin their ICC Cricket World Cup campaign against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 14.

Meanwhile, opener David Warner has made a stern statement ahead of the World Cup, saying he would prefer to be “arrogant” enough and continue dominating almost all the top bowlers in world cricket.

“I’ll be arrogant and say I have taken most of them down,” Warner was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

Warner is brimming with self-belief after notching up three centuries and 427 runs in the just-concluded Test series against India.

“Last year I played Twenty20 and then came back out and batted like a cowboy in the Boxing Day Test. It was not my ability to play the game, it was my thinking I want to hit every ball out of the park.”

The 28-year-old also believed the tri-series against England and India would give him enough time to get ready for the quadrennial event which the Australians have won four times, last being in 2007.

“Leading into this World Cup, we’ve got a tri-series and there’s going to be no excuse because there’s going to be a lot of game time to get ready,” he said.

The prolific left-handed batsman believes that his Test strike rate of about 80 has given him a lot of confidence.

“If I’m striking at 80 in Test cricket I don’t need to go any harder in white ball cricket. That’s a thing I need to keep working on, knowing I don’t have to hit boundaries from ball one. (Agencies)