Allrounder to fly home with shoulder issue, Australia set to pick like-for-like replacement
Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the remainder of the Qantas Tour of India with a recurrence of a shoulder injury.
Marsh scored 48 runs in four innings and bowled just five overs – all in Bengaluru – in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, with his replacement set to be named in the coming days.
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"Mitchell has been playing with a shoulder injury for most of the summer, which we have been managing up until now, but unfortunately it has progressively deteriorated to a point where he is unable to function at the level required," said team physiotherapist David Beakley.
"Consequently he will return to Australia to consult with specialists to advise the best course of action."
Marsh was named in Australia’s Test squad for India despite having been ruled out of January’s VB ODI Series against Pakistan after injuring the same shoulder.
The 25-year-old missed the preceding ODI tour to New Zealand, but recovered in time to play in Australia’s sole warm-up match in Mumbai before returning to the starting XI for the first Test in Pune.
“It was fine when he got here but it’s gotten worse,” said national coach Darren Lehmann. “I was confident (Marsh was fit), I thought he played really well in the second innings in Pune where he got 31.
“At the end of the day it’s unlucky for Mitch and we move to whoever the next person who comes in (is).
“Whether we go with Usman Khawaja or Glenn Maxwell or whoever’s selected, we’ll just wait and see.”
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With an extra batsman (Khawaja) and two spin-bowling allrounders (Maxwell and Ashton Agar) already in the squad, Lehmann confirmed another allrounder would be flown in from Australia.
Potential candidates include NSW Blues captain Moises Henriques, New Year’s Test debutant Hilton Cartwright and Victoria’s Marcus Stoinis, who made a stunning return to international cricket in the 50-over format against the Black Caps in January-February.
Henriques has played four Tests, all of which have come in Asia, and scored a career-high 265 against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield last month.
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The 30-year-old is enjoying his best first-class season with the bat having scored 605 runs at 67 this summer for NSW, but has bowled only 27 overs this side of the BBL break.
Cartwright was the incumbent Test allrounder after making his debut against Pakistan at the SCG earlier this year but was not named in the 16-man party to tour India.
Batting for Western Australia this season, the right-hander has amassed 520 runs at 37.14 and taken six wickets at 61.00.
And Stoinis proved he has what it takes at international level by posting a breathtaking 146no in Auckland that almost salvaged an improbable ODI win in January.
But in Shield cricket the Victorian is averaging 13 with the bat and 39 with the ball in 2016-17.
While the search continues for Marsh’s replacement, Australia might look to include Khawaja to bolster the batting line-up that was bowled out for 112 in 36 overs chasing 188 for victory in the second Test.
Khawaja made scores of 26, 18, 11 and 0 in four innings in Sri Lanka last year but bounced back with two knocks of 97 and a match-winning 145 in the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval this summer, passing 50 in every Test he played.
The Australia squad will take few days off before the third Test, which begins in Ranchi on March 16.
http://www.cricket.com.au/news/mitc...-lehmann-maxwell-khawaja-henriques/2017-03-08
