Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc will miss the second of three Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka after suffering a finger injury in the opening-game win.
Starc cut the index finger of his bowling hand on his shoe spike during the opening over of the 10-wicket thrashing at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The 32-year-old left-armer required on-field treatment but managed to complete his four-over spell and claimed 3-26.
“It was a strange one,” fellow quick and player-of-the-match Josh Hazlewood told cricket.com.au. “Once his left leg came back through, he clipped it on the spike, so he’s got a little cut on his bowling finger.
“He was allowed to strap it tonight being an external blow in this game [but] can’t strap it [Wednesday] night so that might cause a few problems.”
Starc’s injury opens the door for Jhye Richardson’s return to international cricket after his namesake Kane was preferred in the series opener. Medical staff will assess Starc, who will hope to be available for the third match of the series in Kandy on Saturday night.
On Tuesday, Hazlewood again showed why he is one of the world’s best white-ball bowlers, taking 4-16 as the hosts collapsed from 100-1 to be all-out for 128.
The 31-year-old silenced the home fans with a three-wicket burst in the 14th over as Sri Lanka lost 4-3 and then 9-28.
Openers David Warner (70 not out) and Aaron Finch (61 not out) backed up Hazlewood’s dominance, powering Australia to 101-0 in the 12th over before heavy rain set in to force players off the field for almost an hour.
After play resumed, Finch guided a six to third man for the winning runs with 36 balls to spare.
“Josh was outstanding with the ball, he was very good through the IPL and he’s started well here,” Warner said. “It was a great start; we had a couple of lead-in days with training and it’s very hot and humid over here.”
Source: The Guardian
BDST: 1030 HRS, June 8, 2022
MN
