WELLINGTON: Vice-captain Michael Clarke has been included in Australia’s test squad only two days after quitting a cricket tour of New Zealand for personal reasons and returning to his Sydney home.

Clarke left the team hotel on Monday on the eve of their third one-day international against New Zealand at Hamilton to be with his partner. “Michael has arrived home to support Lara through this difficult time,” Clarke’s manager, Chris White, said on Tuesday. At the time there was speculation over whether Clarke would be included in the team for the two Test matches in New Zealand starting later this month.

Clarke’s fiancee, Australian model Lara Bingle, recently announced she would sue former boyfriend Brendan Fevola over nude photographs of her allegedly taken during their relationship that were later distributed without her permission. An Australian magazine last week published a photo of Bingle in the shower, allegedly taken in 2006 while she and Fevola were involved in a relationship.