Steve Smith, Australia’s stand-in captain, raised concerns over the availability of opener Matthew Short for their forthcoming Champions Trophy semi-final match. Short suffered a quad injury during Australia’s rain-affected match against Afghanistan on February 28. He was in visible discomfort after scoring 20 runs off 15 balls before being dismissed by Azmatullah Omarzai.
He has injury-related doubts for semi-final and the team is waiting for further assessment. Chances will take a hit if the opener misses out. Meanwhile, Australia very much hopes that their opener will be ready in time for the semi-final showdown. He has all fingers crossed for Short’s speedy recovery.
“I think he’ll be struggling”- Steve Smith
Steve Smith, Australia’s stand-in skipper, has said that opener Matthew Short is in doubt for the Champions Trophy semifinal because of a quad injury. Short sustained the injury during the rain-affected match with Afghanistan on February 28, where he seemed to struggle after scoring 20 runs off 15 balls before being knocked out by Azmatullah Omarzai.
Speaking to Prime Video via Australian Associated Press (AAP), Steve Smith noted that Short’s situation is an increasing worry in the squad. With little recovery time ahead of the semi-final, casting doubt on his match fitness for the all-important knockout games, he said, “The opener doesn’t have much time to recover before the semis.”
“I think he’ll be struggling. Think we saw tonight he wasn’t moving very well. I think it’s probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover, We’ve got a few guys there to come in to fill a job,” Smith said.
Jake Fraser-McGurk is perhaps the most immediate backup option for Australia. However, some eyebrows will be raised over the youngster really cutting it in a high-pressure knockout match after his subdued performance against Sri Lanka. Other possible options for Australia should Short miss the tournament entirely include an all-rounder, Aaron Hardie, or traveling reserve Cooper Connolly.
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