“You wouldn’t want to risk a hamstring early in the tournament when you want him to be right for the big games later on”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

England pace bowler Stuart Broad has advised Australia captain Michael Clarke not to rush his international comeback.

Despite having played grade cricket and a practice match against Bangladesh, Clarke admitted that he still has a long way to go before he fully recovers from his hamstring injury.

“You wouldn’t want to risk a hamstring early in the tournament when you want him to be right for the big games later on…hamstrings are always a bit tricky,” Broad said. “It’s certainly not a distraction for us. It just means we need to do more research on more players. I think he’s averaged 43, 44 for them, he’s a world-class player and I’m sure they would want their captain back for important games.”

Broad also believes that there is no reason why England cannot make it to the final. However, when asked who their opposition might be, the 28-year-old said: “New Zealand or South Africa. I don’t know how it all works towards the end [and] Australia are massive favourites, but New Zealand are looking dangerous and South Africa are looking very dangerous.

“The format of the World Cup is they are not must-wins at the start but it would take a lot of pressure off us. We’ve got tough games at the start and it will free us up if we win a couple of the first three. It’s not the end of the world if we don’t but it would take a lot of pressure off us if we do.

“We played some really good cricket against India in the tri-series and Australia did it a couple of times. I think we’re due, too.”