John Hastings ruled out of early One-day Cup matches with injury
What’s the story?
Australian pacer John Hastings has been ruled out of playing for his state side Victoria Bushrangers for the initial stages of the domestic one day cup due to a back injury he sustained while practicing, as per a report by Cricbuzz.
In case you didn't know
Playing for the English county side Worcestershire, Hastings injured his ankle earlier in the year. Due to the injury, Hastings couldn’t find a spot in the Australian national side. He was part of the squad which was selected for the ICC Champions Trophy held earlier in the year.
John Hastings was the second highest wicket-taker for Victoria in last year’s competition. He will be replaced by uncapped teenager Xavier Crone.
The details
John Hastings follows a long line-up of Australian fast bowlers who are injured or are recovering from an injury currently. After recovering from an ankle injury sustained while for Worcestershire, he injured his back recently.
In a practice session for Victoria Bushrangers, Hastings injured his back putting him out of action for couple of weeks. It’s definitely not good news for Victoria as Hasting was prolific in last year’s one day cup. On the other hand, this gives uncapped player Xavier Crone a very good opportunity to showcase his skills.
Reactions
"John unfortunately injured his back while bowling during training in the MCG nets last Friday. He had only recently returned from an ankle injury so naturally this a slight setback for him," team physio Nick Adcock said, stating that he expects the veteran pacer to return for the latter part of the tournament.
Author’s take
In times where many prominent fast bowlers are injured for Australia, Hasting’s injury is a cause for concern. With Ashes coming up, they would want to have a pool of fast bowlers to chose from.
As of now Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Josh Hazelwood are injured or on their way back to recovery. Hastings if fit could have played in India. As now Pat Cummins has been rested for the T20I’s against India to give him rest before the Ashes.
The Australian team management must ensure that their fast bowlers are taken good care of. With so many of their fast bowlers injured, it has hampered their current results as well as impacting their preparation for the Ashes.