Australia’s middle-order batsman Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of the remaining ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after breaking his arm in the net session.
The 35-year-old – who made two appearances at the World Cup, scoring a total of 26 runs – will be replaced in the squad by Peter Handscomb.
Marsh got injured while facing teammate Pat Cummins in the nets at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The injury makes Marsh a major doubt for the Ashes, which starts on August 1 with the first Test at Edgbaston.
“Unfortunately, the scans have revealed Shaun has suffered a fracture to his forearm which will require surgery,” Australia coach Justin Langer said. “We are right behind him in his recovery.”
Thursday’s practice session, which took place two days before defending champions Australia’s final round-robin game against South Africa, also saw all-rounder Glenn Maxwell taken to hospital for a check-up after he got injured while batting against Mitchell Starc.
“The scans have cleared Glenn of any serious damage and we’ll continue to monitor him over the coming days,” Langer said. “We are hopeful he will be fit to perform for us on Saturday against South Africa.”
Australia have already qualified for the World Cup semi-finals and victory over South Africa will take them to the top of the points table and set up a semi-final clash against New Zealand on July 9.
