Dumped Australian Test batsman Michael Clarke has been given a day off by his domestic side to "clear his mind", coach Trevor Bayliss said.
Clarke, seen as the future of Australia's Test side when he scored a century on debut in October 2004, was dropped from the Test squad on Monday after a poor run over the last 12 months scoring just 476 runs from 12 Tests at an average of 28.
The 24-year-old will now play for New South Wales in a domestic first-class match against Queensland starting in Sydney on Saturday although Bayliss said he felt it is best he had the day off training on Friday.
"I've given him today off practice just to get away from it and clear his mind a little bit so he comes back as fresh as possible," Bayliss told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"I don't think he's out of form. He's certainly out of runs at the Australian level.
"But he's hitting the ball well and he just needs to spend a bit of time in the middle and I'm sure the runs will come at that next level.
"We're hopeful that for his sake he scores runs in this game. Whether he scores them in this game or not ... I'm quite sure he'll score runs and get his way back in."
Clarke was named in Australia's one-day squad on Thursday for three international matches in New Zealand in December.
