Surgery not required but Travis Head out for first half of World Cup 2023: Andrew McDonald
No surgery but Head out for first half of CWC, Labuschagne to be included
Australia opener Travis Head will require a month-long treatment on his fractured left hand, keeping him out of action for at least the first half of the Cricket World Cup 2023, starting October 5.
Coach Andrew McDonald confirmed Head will not undergo surgery as his chances of featuring in the showpiece event in India remain under the cloud. The selectors could draft in-form batter Marnus Labuschagne as his replacement if needed.
Having broken his joint on the left hand during the fourth South Africa ODI in Pretoria, Head will fly to Adelaide for further assessment while his teammates will reach India for the three-match ODIs and the World Cup 2023 to follow.
Revealing more on this following the Johannesburg One-Day, McDonald said the management would keep a tab on Head’s recovery status, but the main task would be to take a call on his CWC fate.
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"The timeframe is still a bit loose at the moment, but the good news is he doesn't require surgery as it sits at the moment," McDonald said. "There will be an extended period of time out, and we've just got to weigh up whether that time (out) falls with an option to carry him through the front half of the World Cup.
"There's no doubt he won't be available for the front half, so that's a decision we'll have to make for the final 15(-player squad). But I can't give you an exact time frame," the head coach added.
‘Blessing in disguise'
While Head’s injury at this hour would hurt Aussiemomentum and settled line-up heading into the World Cup, the strong bench strength at the helm will still keep them ahead of their contemporaries. Australia’s newest T20I captain, Mitchell Marsh, will now open alongside David Warner, while Marnus Labuschagne, who lost his place in the ODI side earlier, could fill in for Head in the XI.
Coming in as a concussion substitute for Cameron Green in the first ODI, Marnus played a match-winning 80 and scored a hundred in the next game to press his case for the World Cup slot. However, without getting into much detail, McDonald said though selectors are the ones to take a call on the final 15, Marnus appears to be the frontrunner to return to the side for the marquee event.
"I can't talk on behalf of the selection panel and lock him away in the World Cup 15, but it's no doubt looking likely," McDonald said of Labuschagne’s World Cup hopes. "He's made a significant shift in his intent at the crease and putting the bowlers under pressure (more) than he was potentially 12 months ago. He's struck at around 100 strike rates in this series."
The India-Australia series gets underway on September 22 in Mohali, while they will open their CWC campaign against India on October 8 in Chennai.
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