Ryan Harris ruled out of Ashes due to ankle injury
Australia suffered another setback as their pace bowler Ryan Harris has been ruled out of the Ashes due to a stress ankle fracture.
He will be undergoing a surgery on his left ankle forcing him to miss the last two days of the fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne along with the fifth and final Test match in Sydney scheduled to begin on 3 January 2011.
Harris injured his ankle while bowling the fifth ball of his 29th over, immediately pulling off his shoe as he sat down on the ground on the second day. He rose gingerly to his feet and had to be assisted by Captain Ricky Ponting.
He initially received minor treatment from Australia’s physiotherapist http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Alex-Kountouris-c43123 but felt a surging pain and was then forced to limp out of the ground.
It was still not sure whether Harris would be batting in Australia’s second innings but the day closed in with England still dominating and Ricky Ponting’s men reeling on 169 runs for the loss of six wickets.
However, immediately after the close of play, Cricket Australia’s doctor Trefor James revealed that he has a stress fracture on his left ankle.
“Ryan is likely to require surgery and consult a specialist in the next 24 hours,” James said in a statement released by Cricket http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
The 31-year-old had a lacklustre innings in the fourth Test match. He has figures of 91-0. Harris was one of the heroes of the third Ashes Test at Perth after picking up nine wickets to get his team back in the series.
Harris is not new to injuries after undergoing an arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier this year. As he walked off the MCG, he knew that he is all set to confront cricket’s Grim Reaper once again.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-South-Wales-c823 left-armer Doug Bollinger looks all set to replace Harris for the final showdown at Perth.
However, Australia will be a bowler short in the final two days but his absence will have little effect on the Ashes outcome as England look set to retain the Urn. If they win the fourth Ashes Test, they will lead the series 2-1 and the Aussies would need
to win or draw at best the last Test match in order to avoid complete humiliation.
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