Clarke has been battling a back complaint but he appears to have overcome the injury despite struggling during training this week.
Australia team physio Alex Kountouris confirmed a decision on Clarke would be made on Thursday morning, with Usman Khawaja ready to replace him should he not get the go-ahead, but it is looking good for the vice-captain.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting said: “Michael Clarke has got through his work particularly well over the last couple of days.
“He had a long solid bat in the nets again today (Wednesday), against the bowlers and the coach, so he’s come through pretty well.”
Meanwhile, it seems Peter Siddle has won the battle to be Australia’s third quick for the opener, with Doug Bollinger not getting enough cricket under his belt after injury to get a run.
Ponting said: “Lack of bowling over the last few weeks has been as much to do with it as anything.”
Siddle said: “Any fast bowler who gets the opportunity to bowl on it is going to be excited.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s much-publicized battle for the role of spinner goes to Tasmanian Xavier Doherty ahead of Nathan Hauritz.
It appears the selectors have had enough of Hauritz who isn’t the wicket-taker they believe they need.
For England, there’s much less concerns about their XI and captain Andrew Strauss is confident his side can pull off ‘something pretty special’.
Australia have lost their past three Test matches and England can sense an opportunity to claim a rare Ashes victory Down Under.
“We have got a good opportunity, there’s no doubt about it,” Strauss told a press conference on the eve of the first Test.
“We’ve started the tour well, we’re in a good place as a side, but at the same time we recognise that it’s a tough assignment, not many sides come out here and win.
“We understand the size of the challenge ahead of us but we couldn’t be in a better place mentally to take on that challenge.
“It’s going to take a lot of good cricket. It’s going to take some guys pulling out some good performances when it really matters and guys will have to dig pretty deep.”
One of those players is star batsman Kevin Pietersen who hasn’t lived up to expectations in the past 18 months.
Australia’s decision to select Doherty appears to be directed towards Pietersen, who has struggled with left-arm slow-bowlers in the past.
But dangerous England quick Stuart Broad thinks Pietersen can get back to his best form.
“I don’t think he’ll be worried at all about facing a left-arm spinner because he’s scored runs against world-class spinners,” he said.
“He’s probably had a lean 18 months by his own standards but we’re all very excited about seeing him because he’s hitting it great in the nets and we know he likes to play Australia.
“He’s certainly not panicking about left-arm spin and he’s preparing just as much for the seamers.”
In other news, the GABBA will be a full house of over 37,000 for Thursday’s opening day with massive anticipation in Australia ahead of this Ashes series.
Likely teams;’‘Australia; Ricky Ponting (c), Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Xavier Doherty, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus'’England; Andrew Strauss (c), Alistair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Jimmy Anderson, Steve Finn