Australian captain Michael Clarke has said he never considered resting from the one-day series against England despite his chronic back problem.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Clarke missed Australia's entire ICC Champions Trophy campaign in June due to a flare-up of the injury, and felt some discomfort early in the failed Ashes campaign.
Although England has rested a number of their top players for the five-game series, Clarke, however, said that he had never thought of going down the same path as he is desperate for success and views the series as just as important as any other, including the Ashes.
Stating that his staying back in England for the ODIs was a 'no-brainer', Clarke also said that he wants to play every game he can for his country, adding that he had no issues with his back heading into the series and will prepare for the series like any other game.
According to Clarke, it is important that he is with the team to lead from the front and perform so that he can manage to take back the one-day team to the top of the rankings.
Dismissing suggestions that he could consider giving up the 50-over format in the near future to preserve his Test career, Clarke, who is focused on leading Australia to the 2015 one-day World Cup, said that he feels as fit and strong as he has throughout his career.
Clarke also said that his injury is manageable, adding that there is no reason why he cannot continue to manage it and play for a lot longer in both forms of the game.
