Thrown into the action

PETE Handscomb could make a sensational World Cup debut against South Africa tonight after a fierce Australian net session left Shaun Marsh with a broken arm and Glenn Maxwell injured.

Handscomb was due to arrive in Manchester last night after being rushed into Australia’s World Cup squad just hours after Shaun Marsh’s campaign was ended by a Patrick Cummins thunderbolt at training.

The blow in the nets fractured Marsh’s right arm with the West Australian set for surgery.

In a cruel twist, Marsh only replaced Maxwell in the fast bowler’s net at the savage session because a Mitchell Starc bouncer forced Maxwell into hospital for scans.

But while X-rays cleared Maxwell’s right arm of serious damage, they showed a break for Marsh.

Maxwell will face a fitness test tonight before the game.

“Pete is a like-for-like player, in terms of batting in the middle order, and he performed very well for us during our recent tours in India and the UAE,” coach Justin Langer said. “We’ll continue to monitor Maxwell ... we are hopeful he will be fit against South Africa (tonight).”

Kane Richardson joked: “GC, you’re up next” after spotting 70-year-old selector Greg Chappell watching the mayhem unfold from the sidelines.

Handscomb was four hours away with Australia A in Brighton when he got the call. The right-hander was averaging 74.5 runs as wicketkeeper in the reserve team’s four wins against county teams.

Handscomb played in all 13 ODIs for Australia this year leading into the World Cup, averaging 43.5 runs at a strikerate of 98.2. That included a matchwinning 117 against India in Mohali.