Clark feared for his Australia future

Stuart Clark feared his Test career was over after an extended stint on the sidelines coincided with the rise of a new generation of Australian pacemen. Clark claimed figures of 3 for 18 from ten precise overs in his first Test outing in nine months on Friday, but conceded he had wondered whether he would ever again wear the baggy green cap after the likes of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus led Australia to victory in South Africa at a time when he was recuperating from elbow surgery.

"There were a few of them," Clark said, when asked if there were moments when he thought his Test career might have passed him by. "When you're injured there is a lot of speculation: would I play again or could I play again? When the guys did so well in South Africa there was always a little bit of talk. I have to learn to deal with it, so do all the guys on the sidelines. Brett [Lee] is in the same position at the moment. When the guys bowl well there's nothing we can do about that."

Clark showed no ill-effects from the elbow surgery on Friday, resuming his strangle-hold on England's batsmen from the Ashes series two years ago. On that occasion, Clark played a leading role in Australia's 5-0 whitewash, sezing a series-best 26 wickets in an Australian team that contained Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. He bowled with equal precision at Headingley, seldom allowing England's top-order respite with a disciplined line, subtle out-swing and awkward bounce.

Clark's absence from the first three Tests of the Ashes series has been a point of great contention, and his performance on Friday will cast the spotlight on the selectors' move to omit him to this point.

"They wanted to go down a different path and show some faith in the guys who did well in South Africa," Clark said. "With Siddle, Hilfenhaus and Johnson and the make-up of the team, I didn't fit the plans. It was no more than that.

"There's no secret I was disappointed. I thought I was a really good chance to play in conditions I've played in before. If you take the Cardiff game, the boys bowled well and ... it's pretty hard to change a team that's done well from that game. I was disappointed, but I'm a realist. I understand the selectors have a tough job as well."