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NSW all-rounder Moises Henriques must be in contention for an international recall as Australia battle with injuries ahead of flying to the Caribbean this month for a limited overs tour.
Australia have injury concerns for that tour, with skipper Steve Smith, leading all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and in-form seamer John Hastings all ruled out of the rest of the Indian Premier League season.
Hastings already has been scrubbed from the tri-series against the West Indies and South Africa, which starts for Australia with a match against the Windies in Providence on June 5.
The burly bowling all-rounder had been brilliant since returning to the national team last September after a four-year absence. In his last eight ODIs, Hastings grabbed 16 wickets at an average of 22, and underscored his valuable batting with a match-winning 48* against New Zealand in February. He also was sensational in the domestic one-day competition last summer, grabbing 12 wickets at 23 to go with 106 runs at 21.
His Victorian teammate Scott Boland was drafted into Australia’s squad for the Caribbean as his replacement. That was a surprise selection, with Boland having struggled badly since making his international debut last summer, taking just five wickets at 85 in his eight limited overs matches.
Boland was added to Australia’s 16-man squad for this seven-match ODI tour, which includes youngsters Travis Head and Adam Zampa, plus returning superstar quick Mitchell Starc.
Marsh and Smith both were named in that squad but now will have to prove their fitness. That pair both suffered injuries in the past week while playing for the Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL.
After a poor start to the IPL, Smith had unearthed a rich vein of form, cracking 45, 101* and 46* in his past three matches.
Marsh also had been effective for the Supergiants. Although he hadn’t been required to have a major impact with the bat, the 24-year-old continued to impress with his lively seam bowling, taking 4-45 from nine overs across his three matches.
Marsh was ruled out of the rest of the IPL after being injured while training.
“He had scans in India that suggest he has a side strain injury and will now return home for further assessment and treatment ahead of the tour of the West Indies,” Kontouris told Fairfax media.
“Once we have a better understanding of the extent of the injury we will be able to advise on his return to play timeframes.”
With the recent retirement of veteran Shane Watson, Marsh had been cemented as Australia’s number six in ODIs. If he is unable to tour the Caribbean, Henriques would be his obvious replacement.
A hard-striking batsman and accurate seamer, Henriques has played just six ODIs since making his debut as a 22-year-old almost seven years ago.
He has since matured into a reliable player with great leadership qualities. Henriques was in blazing touch with the bat in last summer’s domestic one-dayers, piling on 252 runs at 63, at close to a run-a-ball. His international opportunities have been scarce because of the presence of Watson and the emergence of Marsh, but he looked comfortable in his few limited-overs outings for Australia.
Smith, meanwhile, had to leave the IPL because of an ongoing problem with wrist soreness. Kontouris said his condition would be assessed ahead of the tour of the Caribbean. Australia will hope that don’t enter that tri-series with three big losses in Smith, Marsh and Hastings.
Australia squad for ODI Tour of the West Indies
Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), George Bailey, Scott Boland, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa