STOINIS SORENESS CONCERN
AUSTRALIAN all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was on a massage table getting more treatment on his hamstring as the Delhi Capitals were eliminated from the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Stoinis played his first game since injuring his hamstring while bowling on September 22 but wasn’t thrown the ball in the semifinal having made a sluggish 16 off 23 balls when asked to bat at No.3 by coach Ricky Ponting.
He left the field amid a crazy finish to the game, won by the Kolkata Knight Riders despite losing 6-7 in their run chase, and was replaced by Australian teammate Steve Smith.
Ponting was asked why he overlooked Smith for Stoinis in the crunch game, given the all-rounder appeared not to be fully fit.
“He missed about three weeks with that hamstring injury, so he hadn’t played any cricket,” Ponting said.
“We desperately wanted him in the team today because we knew he could bat at the top of the order, but we also knew he could bat at the death if required.
“I think it was the right decision.”
Both Stoinis and Smith will join the Australian T20 squad in Dubai, having barely played any cricket ahead of the World Cup opener against South Africa on October 23.
Smith, who skipped whiteball tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh, played just two of Delhi’s eight matches after the IPL resumed last month, his only matches since April.
Stoinis also featured in two games but didn’t complete either.
Australia has been locked in to play two warm-up games before the World Cup against New Zealand and India, matches that could prove crucial for a host of players looking to get match practice.
Fast bowler Pat Cummins is also set to be a late arrival after the birth of his first child, a son, last Friday.
Josh Hazlewood will also link up with the Australian squad after the IPL final where he will turn out for the Chennai Super Kings on Friday.