Cameron Green ruled out of the India series due to side soreness, with Marnus Labuschagne set to replace him.
Cameron Green was ruled out of the ODI series against India due to low-grade side pain, dealing Australia yet another serious injury setback that might have a big impact on the forthcoming Ashes.
Marnus Labuschagne was summoned into the team to replace the 26-year-old Green, who was ruled out of the series on Friday. After the Sheffield Shield game on Saturday night, Labuschagne will take a plane from Adelaide to Perth to join Australia’s team in time for the opening ODI on Sunday.
After undergoing back surgery last year, Green has only recently resumed competitive bowling. He played in Western Australia’s opening Shield round match against New South Wales in Perth last week, skipping the T20I trip of New Zealand. When Western Australia couldn’t bat long enough in their first innings to allow for a full day’s rest in between four-over spells, Cricket Australia’s medical staff banned him from bowling on consecutive days. He was supposed to bowl eight overs in the match, but he only bowled four and took a wicket.
He continued to increase his loads in anticipation of delivering more overs in the third round of the Shield, which begins on October 28, even though he was not expected to bowl in the first two ODIs against India. In order to play in the third and fourth rounds of the Shield to be ready for the Ashes, he was going to be rested from the third and final ODI in Sydney and would also miss the ensuing T20I series.
After bowling during training this week, Green pulled up sore. He will have a brief recuperation period before perhaps being able to play and bowl in Western Australia’s third Shield match against South Australia at the WACA, which begins in eleven days.
Australia is worried about the injury because they were counting on Green to be well enough to bowl unhindered in the Ashes. Australia is already worried about Test captain Pat Cummins’ fitness after he stated earlier this week that he was “less likely than likely” to play in the first Test match against England, which begins in Perth on November 21.