Fast bowler Andrew Tye has been ruled out of the T20I series against Sri Lanka and might potentially miss the series against Pakistan as well following an elbow injury. Cricket Australia will name a replacement player in the coming days.
Australia will still be able to field a strong pace attack with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Billy Stanlake and Kane Richardson at their disposal. “(He did it) throwing, I think it was one of the first drills he did. He was a bit off balance and felt a bit of a pop in there,” skipper Aaron Finch said on Tye.
The home side also received a huge boost despite losing Tye when Finch was declared fit to play the opening game. Finch was initially a doubtful starter after missing two games for Victoria with a side strain. “(I’m) all good, ready to go. I felt really good batting in particular,” Finch confirmed.
“I was a bit worried about throwing yesterday, it wasn’t the most comfortable the last couple of days in Perth. Getting here and batting yesterday, throwing a fair bit gave me some confidence. I’d say I’m 99 percent chance of playing tomorrow. Earlier in the week, I was (in doubt). It didn’t progress all that quickly, but the last three days I got full movement and full training today.”
Middle-order batsman Ashton Turner has also regained fitness to throw himself into contention despite having some limitations with regards to throwing. “He’s not bowling yet, batting no problem at all. His throwing is a bit more limited to inside the ring,” Finch said. “That’s something that’s going to have to be monitored along the way with his rehab. The fact he can throw with some decent pace in the ring. I think yesterday was more with workload and not wanting to overdo it.”
The first T20I will be played on Sunday (October 27) in Adelaide.
