Travis Head suffers a fracture in his left hand during the fourth ODI against South Africa; World Cup availability in doubt
Australian opener Travis Head suffered a fracture in his left hand which is also his dominant hand while batting during the fourth ODI against South Africa. The injury has raised doubts over his availability for the upcoming fifty-over World Cup in India. Head now joins the list of injured Australian players like Mitchell Starc Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith while players like Ashton Agar and Mitchell Marsh are also not fully fit and are nursing niggles which was one of the reasons why the latter did not bowl during the fourth ODI.
The Injury
Head was batting on nine of seven deliveries when a ball from Gerald Coetzee hit his left hand. He did continue to bat after taking some on-field treatment but had to retire after playing a few balls. The left-hander was taken to the hospital for an X-ray, the report of which confirmed a fracture to Head’s left hand.
He will have further scans on Saturday with more information on the severity of his injury and a timeline for his recovery to be determined. Head did return to the ground at the end of the match but had his left hand in a splint.
Coach’s Corner
“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.”
While the Australian coach confirmed that Mitchell Marsh will open the batting in the final ODI he was also confident of Green’s availability for the final game as the all-rounder has completed his mandatory eight-day rest period after being concussed. “He’s been cleared by the medical team,” McDonald said. “So he’s just working away getting prepared. Hopefully, he’s available for game five. That’s the plan at this stage. We’ll be able to have some training tomorrow, assess that and there will be some forced changes and we’ll have some guys potentially a little bit sore. We’ll have to manage those guys as well.”
