In-form all-rounder James Faulkner has been ruled out and will have knee surgery as injuries threaten to disrupt Australia’s Test tour to South Africa.
The news could get even worse for the Ashes champions, with batsman Shaun Marsh and paceman Jackson Bird to stay behind for injury treatment when the rest of the squad flies out to South Africa on Wednesday.
Faulkner was on Tuesday replaced in the 15-man tour squad by NSW allrounder Moises Henriques, who returns to the Test fold for the first time since his debut tour of India last year.
Marsh is battling a calf strain and Bird is recovering from a jarred back, and the pair will stay in Perth and Hobart respectively for further treatment, hoping to prove their fitness before a decision is taken on whether they join the tour.
After Australia re-wrote the history books by fielding an unchanged XI throughout the five-match Ashes series, injuries have finally caught up with them.
It’s a major disruption on the eve of a crucial three-Test series against the No.1 Test side in the world.
Faulkner had collected two man-of-the-match awards in the one-day international series against England, including on Sunday, where he bowled out his allotted overs before pulling up sore after the match.
The 23-year-old was to undergo arthroscopic surgery in Melbourne on Tuesday and it’s hoped he will be fit to join the South Africa tour for the closing T20 series before continuing to March’s World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh.
National Selector John Inverarity said Henriques deserved another chance in the Test squad.
“Moises Henriques has shown some good form recently with both bat and ball and he provides a good fit when looking to replace James,” he said.
South Australian Kane Richardson has been drafted in to take Faulkner’s place in Australia’s squad for the T20 Internationals against England, beginning in Hobart on Wednesday night.
Australia Test squad for South Africa: Michael Clarke(c), Brad Haddin (vc), Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Moises Henriques, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson.
JGK
Roar Guru
Has Chris Lynn just played himself into a spot if Marsh is injured?
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Cutting and Henriques shouldn't really be compared as they can't really be competing for similar spots. Henriques is like the 5th or 6th bowler normally for NSW, so the Wkts/game value doesn't really matter. Jacques Kallis also has less than 2 wickets per game, but is considered one of the best allrounders in the history of cricket, but as the 5th bowler you aren't going to be one of the main wicket-takers. In arguing against Cutting I'm not arguing for Henriques. He's one of those players who's had so much promise but never really fulfilled it. However, if they are looking for a like-for-like backup for Watson, Henriques really is the closest there is currently in Australia. If Watson went out and they replaced him with Henriques, then he'd definitely bat at #6 thought, definitely not #3. I never liked the idea of thinking of Faulkner as a backup for Watson either, as replacing a batting allrounder with a bowling allrounder is significantly weakening the batting. If Watson is out they are probably better off trying to get by with the four main bowlers with a few overs thrown in by Smith and Clarke if needed and replace Watson with a pure batsman rather than trying for a bitsa player.
Johan
Guest
Faulk is a pretty good player but does carry on like a pork chop. Needs to learn humility. Perhaps he can while he is out injured. I doubt the Proteas were too worried about him anyway.
Felix
Guest
Well Christo, Rogers and Warner are still fit and the selectors have said Hughes is next opener in line so they are being consistent... they lost a player who can bat and bowl ok on his day in either discipline and have replaced him with Henriques... He better make 200+ runs if he gets selected or I'd rather have taken an extra 12thy over.
vocans
Guest
I'll be glad to eat my words about these selections, but, once is looking like an aberration and twice looks like a failing.
vocans
Guest
Might be a tangent but don't we need to look at the 12th man position again? Why shouldn't the 12th man bat or bowl or keep wickets for that matter in case of injury, sickness, etc? Isn't it a waste of talent, and, as you say, what good does it do the drinks carrier? I know the argument would be that a team could fain injury to use the 12th, but both teams have a 12th and that would make best use of the selection opportunity and use of the option in the game. At least makes as much, if not more, sense as the manipulation of the two umpiring challenges. Good use of the interchange and substitute adds a dimension to AFL and does not detract at all. I would like to see Faulkner play sooner than 3 years, but I agree he, like all players, needs game time to reach his potential. Not endless waiting waitering.
Nudge
Guest
Yeah agree Simon. So why send him at all. He is still fairly young and who knows one day in 3 years he could develop into a guy that could bat 6 and average 40 and average perhaps 33 with the ball. So because he went to India and carried drinks for the one day team he only played maybe 3 shield games. Now he will be carrying drinks in South Africa when he could have been playing 4 shield games. So that's 3 first class games for the Australian summer. Tell me that hasn't put his development back a year
Little Bob
Guest
Incredible. Henriques and Marsh. Why do we even bother having a domestic first class competition?
pope paul v11
Guest
At least Moises has a FC 100 but he's not as good a bowler as Faulk. Anyway with Watto slinging a few down, I don't get the Allrounder thing either. Hughes should take up leggies or the chinaman.
jameswm
Guest
There are better option in NSW too, like SOK for example.
Simon
Roar Guru
To be fair, I doubt Henriques will get a game. I doubt Faulkner would have got a game. Merely back-up all rounders at this stage.
marty
Guest
I reckon ben cutting and mitchell starc should focus on batting and ditch the bowling.Starc looks to have a better technique than most above him in the order and cutting is like a right handed gilchrist very exciting to watch.
nick
Guest
couldn't agree more. what a crazy selection. Henriques just doesn't deserve it. Plus given the huge and deserved backlash against the Darsh selection last week - here they had a chance to pick a decent cover batsmen and instead they opt for Henriques who is simply not test quality. Not sure this is the best way to approach a series against the #1 team in world cricket.
casper
Guest
surely Henriques' selection is an early april fools day joke? Another golden boy from NSW gets a go! shield 2013-14 (5 wickets @ 36 average and 202 runs @ 33). Is he an all-rounder in the squad? not really good at either discipline, talk about 'can't throw, can't bat, can't bowl'. Where's joe the camera man when you need him. I guess when Marsh pulls out Nic Maddinson will get the nod? Hughes should have stuck around in Sydney, then he'd have been a fixture in the squad. going to SA & getting a heap of runs as ordered didn't seem to help. At some point, Inverarity has to get the chop. suggest there's probably one candidate from each state's shield sides that have better credentials including Maxwell,.Butterworh, Hastings, Christian, Cutting, Coulter-Nile, M Marsh. Not all firing at the moment but have the game to challenge Henriques.
formeropenside
Guest
Henriques has 200 Shield runs at 33 and 5 wickets at 36 (with a best of 2/48). Career averages are 32 with the bat an 29 with the ball (but at less than 2 wickets per match). Cutting's bad form has still netted him 8 wickets (albeit at 50) but only averaging 12 with the bat. Career stats are a batting average of 25 and a bowling average of 26 (with nearly 4 wickets per match). And yet Henriques has played 3 Tests to Cutting's nil.
One-eyed Jack
Guest
Henriques hit a few runs in the BBL. Hughes looked rubbish in the BBL. Marsh had a couple of decent ODI innings. Bailey was in cracking form during the Indian ODI series. Do you see a pattern? Plus they are still mentally scarred from the 2005 Ashes loss which was blamed on Flintoff (rather than McGrath getting injured) and the selectors seem to insist on having an 'all-rounder' even if that player would be unable to be selected on the basis of either their bowling or batting skill. Mediocrity is ok also long as they are an 'all-rounder'.
formeropenside
Guest
Henriques?
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Cutting isn't bowling well enough at the moment. He's made the Australian T20 side somehow purely based on hit hitting, because his bowling has been pretty ordinary in all formats this season.
Jo M
Guest
It was interesting reading the article on Fox Sports I think last week after the squad had been announced. It said that Hughes and SACA had been of the understanding that Hughes was a certainty to go to SA. Next thing JI reads out the squad and Marsh is in there instead.
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
So Henriques has "shown some form recently" and gets the call up, but Hughes, who has also shown some form (and quite frankly - more relevant form) lately doesn't? Go figure...