Australian pacer Mitchell Starc is on the verge of missing the third and final Test of the South Africa tour of Australia 2022 after sustaining a finger injury in his left hand.
Mitchell Starc Doubtful For 3rd Test vs South Africa
Being a left-arm bowler, Starc hurt his bowling arm in an attempt to take a catch at long-on during the middle season on Monday. He immediately left the field for further observation and a scan and returned to the field later.
Starc bowled only 13 overs and bagged 2 wickets and didn’t bowl any further as Cameron Green with his first test five-wicket haul ended South Africa’s inning at 189 runs.
Australia’s team management confirmed on the second day morning that Starc was cleared to play and he also batted in the nets. But the statement also said, “condition will be reassessed at the completion of the match” and no details of the results of his scans were available.
Starc was back bowling at full tilt not long after but was unable to play in subsequent games given he needed to tape his finger to protect the stitches holding the cut together.
ICC rules do not permit bowlers to wear tape on their hands for an injury they carried into the match commenced. But given Starc suffered this latest injury during the Test, it is expected he would be permitted to bowl with tape on his finger if he wanted to.
Australia has two spare quicks in the squad in case Starc missed out on the third Test. Josh Hazlewood and Lance Morris bowled in the nets at the second morning at MCG.
Morris was called up ahead of Adelaide Test against West Indies to cover up for Starc, who has played the last 18 consecutive Tests for Aussies since being only selected for a single out of five Ashes matches.
Australia can also consider adding a specialist spinner to the squad for the third Test as the only Test played in this summer, a Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and West Australia was great for spinners. NSW off-spinner Chris Green took nine wickets while WA off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli took eight scalps in a low-scoring game
After Cameron Green injured his finger while batting he was restricted from bowling while he was ruled out of the third test and ongoing BBL 2022-23 tournament.
Australia won the first test by 6 wickets and leads the series. The second Test which started on December 26 sees many ups and down on both sides, particularly on the Australian side. The hosts opted to bowl after winning the toss and executed an impressive bowling attack.
After SA’s top-order collapse, Verreynne and Marco Jansen made a 112 runs stand which was broken by Cameron Green. With a couple of wickets in the lower order, Cameron Green bags his maiden 5 wicket haul in the Test format and flips South Africa’s first inning.
Australia’s 1st inning left everyone in awe after David Warner secured his 3rd Test double-century on the 2nd day of the match. With Alex Carey’s maiden Test century Australia scored 575 runs for 8 wickets and declared.
Test match century No.1! 🤩
Well played, well deserved, Alex Carey! #MilestoneMoment #AUSvSA | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/1GWhBuA1AV
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2022
During South Africa’s 2nd inning, Starc opened the bowling attack and dismissed Dean Elgar for duck and draws the first blood for the visitors. South Africa was trailed by 375 runs in their second inning.
The third test match of the series will be played on January 4 next year at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney.
