England Australia Cricket News : Uncapped Stephen O’Keefe to replace injured Nathan Hauritz
Stephen O’Keefe, the uncapped 25 year old, got a call to replace injured Nathan Hauritz for the NatWest series against England. However, only three matches remain.
Hauritz had previously been struggling with a foot injury in the first two matches, both of which England won. He is set to fly home for treatment shortly. Alex Kountouris, who is the Australian team’s physio, has said in an official statement: "Nathan Hauritz has developed pain in his left foot during the first two ODI's against England. While the pain was manageable in the first game, it became more severe during the second game". He added: "The pain is likely to be related to a previous foot injury and we have decided the best course of action is to withdraw Nathan from the current tour to allow sufficient time for it to recover”.
Hauritz first represented Australia in the U-19’s and made a debut at the One Day Internationals in 2002. His performance with the bat and especially his off spin bowling got him noticed and eventually led to his selection in the Australian first team. In the 2006-2007 Season when he was dropped from the first team he joined New South Wales state cricket. However, in 2008 he was recalled to the Australian first team with whom he played three Test matches during 2008-2009. He was then also selected for the tour of South Africa and he was Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the one-day series against Pakistan.
O’Keefe, who is set to replace Hauritz, has impressed the selectors with his recent performances. In recent fixtures he managed to score 61 and 47 while taking 7 for 35. The Chairman of the Selectors Board of Australia, Andrew Hilditch, believes that it’s time for O’Keefe to shine. "Stephen has performed strongly in the recent Australia A series against Sri Lanka A in Queensland and is a good young all-round cricketer", he said. O’Keefe was born in Malaysia and spent his first two years there, before moving back to Australia. His First Class debut came in 2005 against Tasmania. Taking 2 wickets and scoring 10 runs, with his first scoring shot a six on his debut, it didn’t take long for him to get noticed.
However, having played only eight First Class matches, O’Keefe is somewhat inexperienced. And he was a surprise selection for the Australian first team. The off-season surgeries and unavailability of Jon Hollard and Jason Krejza might explain the selectors picking O’Keefe to replace Hauritz. But that takes nothing away from the highly talented O’Keefe, who is a unique left-arm bowler and a right-handed batsman. This young sensation has a chance to prove himself to the selectors in the Test Match against Pakistan in early July 2010. O’Keefe is excited at the prospect of playing for the A Series and hopes to do well.
Australia is currently 3-0 down in their five-match one day series to England and face Pakistan in two Twenty20 and Test matches each, starting on Monday, the 5th of July 2010.
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