The Australian team management has confirmed that they will take on injured all-rounder Marcus Stoinis' availability for the remainder of the 2019 ICC World Cup next week, ahead of their clash against Bangladesh.
Stoinis, who suffered a side strain during their loss to India, will travel with the squad to Nottingham, and the final decision on whether he would remain in the World Cup would be taken there. Meanwhile, skipper Aaron Finch also assured that Mitchell Marsh, who has been called up as a back-up in case Stoinis fails to recover from his injury, will be ready for selection for their game against Bangladesh. "Yeah, that's why he's here ... but as a bit of a precaution more than anything, if Stoinis doesn't recover well enough over the next couple of days," Finch was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.
"There is confidence that Mitch will come in and do well if selected, if Stoinis doesn't recover properly," he added.
However, Finch did admit that injury has somewhat affected the team balance. "Yeah, it's tough when guys, especially all-rounders who balance out your side really well and give you that extra fast-bowling option, as well as a top six batter, (are out). So, it's a little bit difficult trying to decide whether you go the extra batter or the extra bowler, depending on conditions," Finch said.
"So, I think it does make it a little bit tougher, a bit more of a challenge, no doubt. But we also did plan for that, if it did happen throughout the tournament. So, it wasn't a total surprise. Obviously, it's not ideal, but it's not a surprise to us because we had already thought about things like that. But it’s just game to game, it totally changes depending on the conditions," he added.
Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Patrick Hamilton
