Australia vs South Africa: Travis Head suffers hand fracture, World Cup participation under doubt

Australia opener Travis Head suffered a fracture in his left had, putting his participation in the upcoming ODI World Cup under a cloud of doubt. Head was hit by a Gerald Coetzee delivery during the fourth ODI against South Africa in Centurion on Friday, September 15. The batsman was trying to attempt a pull shot on the shorter delivery when he was hit. He was attended by the medical staff and continued to play after the treatment only to leave the field after three deliveries.

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed the injury at the post-match presentation after Australia lost the game by 164 runs. "At this stage, it's a confirmed fracture and how long that timeframe is, we're yet to determine that so fingers crossed clearly with the World Cup fast approaching," McDonald said post-match.

"I'm not a medical person, but I think it's a little bit higher up than the actual [index] finger itself. But I don't know the actual terminology. It's in a joint somewhere so I won't go into the medical specifics. But, yeah, a confirmed fracture and to be assessed again tomorrow with another scan," he added.

Head joins a long list of Australian players with injury concerns ahead of the World Cup which startson October 5 in India. Apart from the Southpaw, Pat Cummins (wrist), Steve Smith (wrist), Mitchell Starc (groin), and Glenn Maxwell (leg) are also hoping to be fit before the World Cup and participate in the ODI series against India.

The Kangaroos are scheduled to play a three-match ODI series against World Cup hosts from September 22 ahead of the quadrennial tournament.

As for the match, it was a nightmare for Australia as South Africa put on a mammoth 416/5 on the board, thanks to Heinrich Klassen's mind-boggling 174 off 83 balls. Chasing the total, Australia were never in the hunt and eventually folded out for 252, leaving the five-ODI series equal at 2-2 with one more game to go.

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