Matthew Renshaw revealed that Australia has been dealt a new injury problem in their T20 World Cup campaign after all-rounder Marcus Stoinis sustained an injury during their loss to Zimbabwe.
Stoinis hurt his hand while trying to stop a shot off his own bowling. Cameron Green replaced him to deliver the last ball of the over after he promptly called for the physio and left the field.
Later, Stoinis came back to bat at number seven and scored six runs off four balls before Wellington Masakadza sent him back to the dugout. Renshaw, who led the batting by scoring 65 off 44 balls, stated that the medical staff will evaluate Stoinis further because the team was uncertain of the severity of his injuries.
“Probably Marcus Stoinis was going to bat higher, he got that hit on the finger, we don’t know how bad it is, I’m sure the medical staff will treat that, but yeah, that was the one today, but yeah we just weren’t good enough today. They played really well, they batted really well, got 170 on the board, had wickets in hand to launch at the end and took early wickets. So it’s always tough in a T20 when that happens,” Renshaw said in the post-match press conference.
A series of injury setbacks have taken a hit at Australia’s World Cup campaign, upsetting their preparations. Before the marquee event started, veteran pacers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out due to a persistent back problem and Hazlewood’s inability to recover from hamstring and Achilles ailments in time.
When captain Mitchell Marsh sustained a groin injury during practice and was unable to play in the first match against Ireland, the issues got worse. Steve Smith was then summoned up by Australia as cover, and the seasoned batter flew to Sri Lanka to bolster the team if needed. Heavy-hitter Tim David also missed the early part of the campaign due to a hamstring strain, but he made a comeback for the game against Zimbabwe.
Australia will try to bounce back from their loss to Zimbabwe when they play co-hosts Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday, February 16.