Australia set for a Test of emotions against India

ADELAIDE: It's there everywhere you go in this elegant city, from the central market to the museums of North Terrace right to the makeshift Phillip Hughes memorial in front of the Adelaide Oval's South Gate.
It's a question. "Are they ready to play?" This is followed by a shake of the head. "It's such a shame, isn't it." Usually, that is enough to kill the conversation.
Indians who like to believe cricket is religion in their country should give Adelaide a visit right about now. The Aussies live and breathe this game, and they believe in playing hard. But they don't expect to die by it.
On Tuesday, when Michael Clarke and Virat Kohli lead their teams out to the middle, the emotional roller-coaster this nation has been riding for the past weeks is expected to hit a peak, then grind to a stop as the cricket begins.
There are expectations that collective grief will somehow be miraculously expunged by the cricket. Life, and the game, must go on, they say . It will then be up to the cricketers to answer the big question: Are they ready to play?
One of them isn't, but will be there to mark the occasion. Phillip Hughes, the victim of a freak accident at the SCG, has been designated as 13th man. Whoever bowls or bats, whoever wins, whoever misses a catch, they will all be paying homage to the spirit of this 25-year-old whose death has shaken a nation and a sport.
The good news for Australia is Michael Clarke is ready. Suffering from hamstring woes and the loss of a teammate this past couple of weeks, he has passed a fitness test and risen to the task, cajoled by his teammates and the goodwill of a nation feeling his pain.
To answer the big question, the Aussie players need Clarke around them. "How strong he has been as a person to stand up and do what he's done. He just has something about him when he's out there as captain. I've definitely seen a different side to him. Everyone listens," said pace bowler Mitchell Johnson, who has been running in at the nets like nature's fury unleashed.
On another note, Shane Watson is back too, after missing the last two Tests against Pakistan due to injury.
Clarke's counterpart MS Dhoni, however, isn't ready yet, and so it is Virat Kohli, he of the brash manner, punishing strokeplay and supreme ambitions who will be India's 32nd Test captain.
Perhaps it's only fitting, since Virat suggested he was closer to Hughes than most and the visit to the funeral at Macksville had moved him more than he had anticipated.