Aussie pace spearhead Brett Lee will not take any further part in the ODI series in India. His elbow injury has meant he will fly back to Australia. Moreover, Lee is in danger of missing the home Test series against West Indies as well.
The fast bowler managed to bowl only six overs in the first ODI in Vadodara and had to sit out of the second game at Nagpur. Earlier, Lee couldn’t take part in this year’s Ashes as well, since he was unfit.
“Brett’s elbow injury has not responded as well to treatment as we would have liked and therefore a decision has been made to send him home to consult with an elbow specialist,” Cricket Australia’s physiotherapist Kevin Sims told the media and added, “With an accurate diagnosis we can determine how best to manage the injury and give Brett the best chance of being available for selection at the beginning of the Australian summer.”
The other injured member of the team, all-rounder James Hopes, who is still suffering from a hamstring problem isn’t going back home, but will miss the third ODI in Delhi as well after sitting out of the Nagpur ODI. “We hope he will be okay for Mohali,” Ricky Ponting was quoted as saying in the press.
Thankfully for Australia Tim Paine’s replacement, wicketkeeper Graham Manou, is expected to reach Delhi in time for the third ODI. Paine picked up a broke finger, yet managed to pull off some great catches in the loss at Nagpur. He is likely to be replaced at the top of the order by IPL 1 hero Shaun Marsh. However, Lee’s absence has undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to Australia’s chances.
Wet welcome for Aussies
As if they weren’t enough problems facing the Australian team, their preparations were further hampered when their net session at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi had to be put off owing to wet practice pitches. Apparently, the curator had no idea of what time the team was going to train and thus watered the pitches. In the end, the Australians had to be content with some light practice.
“I am very disappointed. It seems everybody in the world other than the grounds man here knew what we were going to train. To turn up here and find the wickets completely unusable is disappointing. We only had one training day, and I am sure by the time the Indian team comes down here, the wickets will be fine. So it’s a bit of a disadvantage for us,” an extremely frustrated Ponting told the media.
