MELBOURNE: The Australian cricket board may be forced to replace Aaron Finch in the Australian squad as the captain awaits scan results of his hamstring injury ahead of the T20 World Cup, 2000 clash against Afghanistan on November 4, Friday.
The 35-year-old left the field after pulling up sore from a sprinting effort during the powerplay, against Ireland and didn’t return for the rest of the game. Matthew Wade took over as the team’s skipper after the batter didn’t return to the field.
Finch’s night was plagued by an injury to his right hamstring during his 44-ball 63, which was his most robust innings for Australia in months and earned him player of the match honours for the Aussies’ 42-run victory over Ireland at the Gabba on Monday.
A scan will determine the extent of the damage, but Finch himself warned that the situation might get worse before Australia’s final Super 12s game against Afghanistan and the subsequent finals, should the team qualify.
“Little hammy twinge I think. I’ll get a scan tomorrow. Unfortunately, I’ve had a history with them so we’ll see how it goes. It doesn’t feel too bad at the moment but generally, overnight they can stiffen up. We’ll get a scan and get the full results. Very hopeful (of playing Afghanistan) but we’ll know more (Tuesday),” said the Aussie captain as quoted by cricket.com.au.
Tim David and Marcus Stoinis had hamstring issues as well, which caused them to sit out of Australia’s second inning against Ireland, leaving the team with three substitute fielders on the ground.
Although the initial signs suggested that their time off the pitch had been more of a caution than a need, both could be sent for scans before the squad departs for Adelaide, where they play Afghanistan on Friday.
Wade is anticipated to once again assume leadership if Finch were to miss any games for the remainder of the tournament. Australia has not yet appointed a vice-captain for the competition but might need to in the wake of Finch’s injury concern.
The wicketkeeper-batsman Wade does have experience captaining a side having led the Australian squad in six T20 Internationals, most notably during a five-game series against Bangladesh in Dhaka last year. He also has a wealth of domestic leadership experience, having served as captain of the Hobart Hurricanes and state teams Victoria and Tasmania. (ANI)
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