All-rounder Moises Henriques has been added to Australia’s injury-depleted squad for the first men’s Test against India starting in Adelaide on Thursday.
Key points:
- Henriques was called up essentially as cover for Cameron Green, who is in doubt for the first Test
- Green was concussed in Australia A’s match against India at the SCG
- Sean Abbott was forced out of the Test squad because of a calf injury
But New South Wales paceman Sean Abbott has been ruled out of selection for the day-night Test because of a calf strain.
Henriques’s call-up comes amid ongoing uncertainty about the fitness of fellow all-rounder Cameron Green, who is recovering from concussion.
Cricket Australia (CA) is monitoring Green’s condition after he was subbed out of Australia A’s match against India at the SCG on Friday evening when he was struck in the head with a ball while bowling.
CA’s medical staff said Green had shown “clinical improvement” on Saturday and was “symptomatically better” than he was the previous day.
Henriques has played four Tests for Australia, the most recent being against Sri Lanka in 2016.
Abbott was injured playing for Australia A at the weekend.
Abbott will remain in Sydney for treatment and is expected to rejoin the Test squad for the second Test in Melbourne starting on Boxing Day.
Australia has already revamped its Test squad for Adelaide, with openers David Warner (groin) and Will Pucovski (concussion) ruled out.
Victorian opener Marcus Harris was included in the squad at the weekend.
Harris, who has played nine Tests, failed to impress while opening the batting for Australia A against India, with scores of 26 and five.
But he is widely considered to be a likely selection as one of Australia’s openers in Adelaide in light of Joe Burns’s recent poor form with the bat.
Burns, who opened the batting in every Test for Australia last domestic season, was out for one on the final day of the pink-ball tour match in Sydney.
He was dismissed for a duck in the first innings on Friday.
The twin failures at the SCG add to an unconvincing start to the domestic season for Burns, who has tallied just 62 runs from nine first-class innings this season.
The Queenslander made four and a duck in Australia A’s first match against India last week at Drummoyne Oval.
AAP/ABC
