another injury

Yet another player has left the Australian squad on illness or injury.. WHAT is happening to Aussies ? A side that boasts of extreme fitness and talent is now losing them all of a sudden..

Michael Clarke was the first casualty who withdrew from the Champions Trophy, which Aussies eventually won, with a lower back pain.. The work load was blamed..

Brad Haddin injured his finger in the ASHES series and missed a test, giving Graham Manou the back up keeper his maiden game.. Haddin went on to miss ODI series against England and then the Champions trophy with a broken finger..

Callum Fergusson, not a big name but has been vital in Australia winning many matches and has been very consistent at no.6 averaging 46.07 in 25 ODIs that he has played.. Ferguson tripped in the field and injured his right knee in the Champions Trophy finals.. It was later decided through tests that he needs a re-construction of right knee after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament.. (he suffered similar injury in the u-19 wc that he played)..

Soon after the champions trophy, the inaugural Champions League T20 took place where 2 Australian teams in Victoria and NSW took part.. Victoria reached semi-final while NSW went on to beat Trinidad in the finals.. Led by Katich, the side had Hughes and Warner at the top with Lee, Clark and Hauritz forming the core of bowling.. Victoria was captained by Cameron White and Siddle was the other member who also featured in the national side..

NSW members landed in the team hotel barely 24hrs before 1st ODI..

Brett Lee, who was instrumental in NSW winning the CL T20, suffered an elbow strain and was forced out of 2nd ODI but eventually was sent back home as they felt he could not have recovered in time. Lee has had ankle and side problems before the latest setback.. Lee was out of the ASHES too for injury woes..

James hopes also suffered a hamstring injury in the 1st ODI and was ruled out of the next 2 ODIs and eventually out of the entire series..Hopes bowled just two overs in the first ODI in Vadodara before leaving the field after pulling his right hamstring.


The next to go was Tim Paine, wicket keeper who injured his finger while keeping wickets in the Nagpur ODI.. He injured his finger while attempting to take a bouncer of  Siddle..

The latest addition to that is Peter Siddle.. Siddle will return home after suffering stiffness in his left side during Monday's win in Mohali..

So, the replacements Manou, Henriques and Clint McKay are already here and now the selectors are scouting for another replacement..

Already, the pace attack is without Lee.. Now, the next best player Siddle too is going to miss.. Johnson hasn't been in good form either..

Where's Stuart Clark ? Military medium , McGrath like with line and length... Very much needed in the middle overs with Johnson leaking hell a lot of runs he may just be the right replacement..

Dirk Nannes, who played for Netherlands is available to play for Australia.. He is one pace bowler who can be a definite replacement for Lee.. He bowls at 150+ kph..

Brad Hodge, technically may not be so sound but is certainly a good replacement.. I would seen him as the 1st replacement to Clarke.. Donno why he is not favored..

Dont the Aussies boast of a great training facility and highly strong players who play injury free for a long long time !! This just shows that whatever be the facility provided, over kill or continuous cricket will take a toll on players..

The only solution would be if each of the high profile teams have enough bench strength who can come to the International arena and perform from the word go.. A pool of 20-25 players are needed and the final squad of 14-15 must be picked from the pool on a rotation basis so that no player plays too much cricket and also to ensure that the others are match fit and ready to go.. That just takes care of stress related injuries..