Injured Ryan Harris, Possibly Out Until October
Australian fast bowler, Ryan Harris underwent corrective surgery on his knee, which he injured in the Test series against England. Harris had to be flown home after he complained of pain in his knee and upon examination, it was realized that the injury was serious. His absence has earned Ben Hilfenhaus a call up, who is set to feature in the upcoming Test against Pakistan. Harris was in terrific form before his injury and losing him before important Test series comes as a great blow to Australia.
Cricket Australia doctor, Trefor James said in an official statement, “Ryan Harris underwent arthroscopic surgery in Melbourne on Thursday to correct cartilege damage to his right knee. His progress will be monitored in the coming weeks to determine his availability for selection for the VB Tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 tour in October.”
Harris’ greatest display came against Pakistan during the one day series, since then he has taken 41 wickets in 17 One Day Internationals. Even though he missed the second game of the Test series against England because of a groin injury, Harris claimed ten wickets at a rate of 17.10.
Harris’ opportunity to play in the Test series only came when Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle were unavailable because of injury. Hilfenhaus has now recovered from his knee injury and will reclaim his place in the Australian side, battling Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger for the position.
However, the selectors still have to decide which other players to call up, to add more depth, experience and creativity to the team. Clint McKay and Josh Hazlewood, who were in the Australia team for the England Test series, seem likely to get a call up for the upcoming Test series. Peter George’s recent impressive performance for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 may earn him a place in the team as well.
The selectors may be tempted to call up Shaun Tait for the Test series against Pakistan, which starts on Monday, but the premature call up could be damaging to not only the cricketers but also the teams future, since he hasn’t played a first class game since 2008.
Siddle recently recovered from his back stress fractures and has also only begun his comeback, it would not be wise to over stress him either. “We've got a good bunch that has been able to rotate in and out of the side, whether it's an injury or not, they've been able to rotate very well. Maybe it's taken one game to gel back as a group again, but looking for the future we have a pretty good squad at the moment,” said Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson.
For the first Test match, Australia’s attack is expected to be led by Johnson, followed by Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, Steven Smith and Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 presented and was ready to impress the selectors. He praised the Australian team saying how even after losing important players to injury, they had a solid squad. It is this depth and quality within the Australian camp that makes them a team to be reckoned with.
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