Marsh adds to injury woes

AUSTRALIA is sweating on yet another injury scare that could affect its Test XI, with Shaun Marsh sent for scans after hurting his shoulder in the UK.

Marsh landed awkwardly attempting to stop a boundary during a domestic Twenty20 match in Cardiff, having opened the batting alongside Usman Khawaja.

The 35-year-old immediately called for assistance and left the field, with the early signs far from positive.

“Shaun’s a tough guy, so it’s certainly not a bruise the way he walked off holding his shoulder,” Glamorgan coach Robert Croft said. “We’ll have to wait and see. We hope the scan will be favourable.” Marsh hit career-best form during Australia’s Ashes triumph last summer and excelled with the bat during a recent ODI series loss in England, posting centuries in Cardiff and Durham.

The 35-year-old loomed as a certain selection for the tour of the United Arab Emirates to play Pakistan, expected to start in October. That trip will feature Australia’s first Test series since a 3-1 loss to South Africa that was marred by the Cape Town cheating scandal.

Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft will be unavailable because of their ball-tampering bans.

Marsh’s younger brother Mitch is recovering from ankle surgery. The all-rounder will captain Australia A in Septem- ber, although he isn’t expected to bowl on that tour of India.

Quicks Pat Cummins (back), Josh Hazlewood (back) and Mitchell Starc (leg) will also be racing the clock in a bid to return against Pakistan.

Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc, who haven’t played since the tour of South Africa, are hoping to resume.

“I’ve been getting a scan every month to track the progress. It’s probably a little bit slower than we would have liked, but all still pretty much on track,” Cummins said.