Australia have dealt with triple injury blows ahead of the series-deciding T20I fixture against South Africa, scheduled to be played on Saturday in Cairns.
Mitchell Owen, who suffered a concussion after being struck on the helmet by Kagiso Rabada in Darwin, has been ruled out of the third T20I. Though the 23-year-old had passed an on-field assessment after being hit on the grille, he was reported delayed symptoms after being dismissed. Following the protocol, he will enter a mandatory stand-down period of at least 12 days and is most likely to miss out on the 1st ODI as well, which would have marked his debut in the format.
Meanwhile, pacer Lance Morris and all-rounder Matt Short will also miss the ODI series, which starts next Tuesday. Cricket Australia has called Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly and Matt Kuhnemann into the squad.
Earlier, Josh Inglis was benched for the second T20I with ‘flu-like’ symptoms. His absence led to a call-up to Alex Carey, who played his first match in the format since 2021.
Morris complained of back soreness while preparing for the series that was supposed to mark his return to international cricket. He has now gone back to Perth for further medical checks, and his chances of playing in the four-day part of the Australia A tour of India look uncertain.
