Injured captain Michael Clarke will miss Australia’s one-day international series in the West Indies later this month, Cricket Australia said on Thursday. Clarke will stay behind when the Australia team leaves on Friday for the Caribbean tour to have further treatment on an injured hamstring, CA said. The Australia skipper did not play in Thursday’s third and final tri-series ODI against Sri Lanka in Adelaide after straining his left hamstring in Tuesday’s ODI loss to the Sri Lankans. Clarke had a scan on the troublesome hamstring on Wednesday and CA said he would stay at home for further treatment and miss the five ODIs against the West Indies from March 16-25. “He will take part in an intensive rehabilitation programme in Sydney and we expect that he will recover in time to take part in the Test portion of the West Indies tour,” team physio Alex Kountouris said in a statement. The first of three Tests against the West Indies gets under way in Barbados on April 7. Clarke only returned to action last weekend after a strain to his right hamstring, which sidelined him for three tri-series ODIs. Vice-captain Shane Watson will lead the team in Clarke’s absence in the ODI series in the Caribbean, CA said. Pace bowler James Pattinson, who also missed play in Thursday’s third tri-series final with a strained left buttock, will travel with the Australia team. Kountouris said Pattinson will have further treatment in the West Indies over the next week in an attempt to be fit for the ODI series. The opening ODI begins in St. Vincent on March 16.
