Australia's Clarke to return against Bangladesh - Lehmann

Clarke's race to be fit has been something of a soap opera in Australia and he played his first match for the team in two months last week in a warm-up against United Arab Emirates.

(Reuters)

Clarke hit 64 against UAE but sat out the team's 111-run romp over England in their tournament opener.

"Yeah, he's playing mate," Lehmann told reporters in Brisbane.

Clarke, who is likely to replace stand-in skipper George Bailey, bowled and batted in the nets on Wednesday and was satisfied with the progress he has made.

"We had a good conversation (with selectors) last week and thought it was in the team's best interests to not play against England and give me another week," he said.

"At this stage I think the selectors are very happy."

Heavy showers have been forecast for the weekend and the two cyclones expected might push Clarke's return back to Australia's Feb. 28 match against co-hosts New Zealand in Auckland.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Ken Ferris)