Haddin to miss Champions Trophy
Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy following a finger operation and will be replaced by Tim Paine.
Haddin, 31, broke his left ring finger on the morning of the third Ashes Test on 30 July and was replaced by South Australian Graham Manou for that match.
He returned to play at Headingley a week later and again at The Oval.
But he then flew home for surgery and was replaced by Paine for the Twenty20 and one-day series in England.
Paine, 24, made his international debut against Scotland on 28 August. He scored an unbeaten 29 and took one catch. In List A one-day cricket, the Tasmanian averages 37.86 from 43 matches at a strike rate of 66.74.
Haddin said: “While it is extremely disappointing to miss the ICC Champions Trophy, the good news is that the surgery was successful and my finger will be 100% when the recovery period is finalised.
“I am aiming to be available for selection for the one-day series in India, however this is a decision that will be made in consultation with the Cricket Australia medical staff when the time arises.
“In the past I have been able to recover from finger injuries and surgery very quickly and I am hopeful this will again be the case.”
CA doctor Trefor James said: “Surgery was a success and there have been no complications.”
South Africa name 20-member squad for ICC Champions Trophy
DURBAN: Hosts South Africa named a provisional squad of 20 players for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament to be held from September 22 t0 October 5.
Cricket South Africa selection committee convenor Mike Proctor said the squad would be trimmed to the final 15 prior to the start of the tournament.
The squad comprises 15 players who participated in the Twenty20 World Cup in England, apart from Hashim Amla, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Vaughn van Jaarsveld.
“It is a very good squad and it will be quite difficult to reduce it to the final 15,” said Procter.
“The news on Graeme Smith’s elbow surgery is extremely positive at this stage while Lonwabo Tsotsobe has made a good recovery from the knee surgery he had earlier in the year. We will be able to monitor his form as well as that of Vaughn van Jaarsveld on the Emerging Tour of Australia later this month.
“Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs and Wayne Parnell are all playing county cricket at present but will return home in good time to prepare for the tournament,” he said.
Squad: Graeme Smith (c), Johan Botha (vc), Yusuf Abdulla, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robbie Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe, and Vaughn van Jaarsveld.
Dravid shortlisted for Champions Trophy
Rahul Dravid is the surprise inclusion among India’s probables for the ICC Champions Trophy in September this year. The selectors picked a longlist of 30 players for the tournament, to be held in South Africa, including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.
Dravid played his last ODI in October 2007 against Australia in Nagpur, where he managed seven runs. He averages 39.49 from 333 games with a strike-rate of 71.22 and is the third Indian to accumulate more than 10,000 runs in ODIs.
His inclusion follows the recent struggles of Indian batsmen against short-pitched bowling, brutally shown up in the ICC World Twenty20 where Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan were troubled by bouncers from the West Indian and England fast bowlers. The problem continued in the subsequent ODI series in the West Indies.
Dravid played a key role in the success of Royal Challengers Bangalore during the IPL’s second season, scoring 271 runs at a strike-rate of 115.81 as the team finished runners-up in the tournament held in South Africa.
The 16 members of the team touring the West Indies were also included, as are the regulars who missed that due to injury and fatigue concerns – Tendulkar, Sehwag, Zaheer and Suresh Raina.
Among the players who failed to make the cut are medium-pacers Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth. Irfan’s last ODI was against Sri Lanka in February, while a back injury has troubled Sreesanth for more than a year since the inaugural IPL.
Probables: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.
