Text messages from Clarke had eased Ponting's fears about his vice-captain being curled up in the foetal position after the human tendency to be devastated by the end of a serious relationship.

The captain needed to hear it for himself, so when Clarke returned to New Zealand this week, Ponting took his deputy aside, looked him in the eye and demanded honesty.

''I only had to ask him a simple question: 'Are you right to go?''' Ponting said on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve today.

''There's no doubt it's been a tough week, or couple of weeks, for him, but I know Michael well enough to know if he wasn't ready to come back and play, he wouldn't have come. When he first arrived we sat down in my room and had a chat about a few things and he assured me he was ready to go and focused on having a great couple of Test matches here. That's all you can ask of anybody.''

Clarke and out-of-form Marcus North enter the Test under the microscope. It will be tempting to read too much into the performance from Clarke. A low score might not be due to a wounded heart. He might just receive a really good ball. A century might not mean he has completely moved on. He might still be hurting.

Professional athletes can be the best actors of all but Ponting agreed Clarke appeared genuinely relieved after he spoke to the media on Wednesday, saying: ''There's no doubt about that. That was a great weight off his shoulders, something I spoke with him about when he first arrived back. He's trained well and hard the last couple of days. Even this morning he got some batting done on his own time and he'll top up his work in the nets this afternoon. Our vice-captain, an experienced player - it's nice to have him back. He's absolutely been himself.''

Of course the Kiwi crowd will give him stick. The Beige Brigade will make a start by singing ''Bingle Jells'' to the tune of the Christmas carol. Of course, the Kiwi players will be tempted to mention, love, actually.

Yet Clarke is a more resolute character than many give him credit for. Kiwi captain Dan Vettori is not one of those. ''Clarke's record speaks for itself, so I'm sure he'll be fine,'' he said.