Australia’s Josh Inglis has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup because of a freak hand injury suffered while playing golf.
Key points:
- Josh Inglis will miss the T20 World Cup after cutting his hand in a freak golfing accident
- The shaft of Inglis’s club snapped and sliced his right palm
- Cameron Green is expected to be his replacement in the squad, but selectors could opt for another specialist wicketkeeper
Inglis’s right hand was cut when the shaft of a golf club — a six-iron when playing a par three at the New South Wales Golf Club on Wednesday — snapped.
“An incredibly freak accident,” said Australia coach Andrew McDonald.
“Playing the second hole at NSW, a short par three, he hit a six iron and as he made contact with the ground, the shaft snapped around the grip area and cut into his hands.
“He’s potentially not going to take any part in the World Cup, so that’s all to unfold.
“It’s damage to the palm of the hand which is less than ideal, in his right hand where he’d be gripping the bat and if he had to keep, the ball would be impacting that area.
“He saw a hand specialist yesterday. Thankfully, there’s no tendon damage and it looks as though that’s the positive out of the negative. They’ve been able to stitch it up and clean up the wound and let the healing begin.
The Australian hierarchy will soon meet to select a replacement, with all-rounder Cameron Green in the frame.
But McDonald says selectors could plump for a reserve wicketkeeper such as Alex Carey, Ben McDermott or Josh Philippe to replace Inglis, who was the spare gloveman in the 15-man squad.
“We have got a bit of a problem to solve this morning around our backup keeper and also a backup batter,” McDonald told SEN radio.
“We have got to work out what a squad would like going into a World Cup without a backup ‘keeper and the scenario if Matthew Wade were to get injured on the morning of a game.
“What would you do there if you didn’t have a resource in the group that was a stand-out ‘keeper?”
McDonald said summoning Green was “definitely a discussion point” along with wicketkeeper-batsmen such as Philippe, Carey and McDermott.
“There’s a few people to discuss,” he said.
“But we have just got to get our heads around what the scenario would be like without a backup ‘keeper.
“If we feel as though there’s too much risk we might head down that line of choosing one of those wicketkeepers.”
AAP
.