Australian batsman Matthew Short has been ruled out of the third ODI of AUS vs WI. Ben McDermott has been included as a replacement for the all-rounder. Matthew Short may also miss the AUS vs WI T20I series later.
The third ODI of Australia vs West Indies is scheduled for Tuesday, February 6 at the Manuka Oval stadium in Canberra. The final game will conclude the ODI series, which Australia has already won. The hosts won the first two games to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
The Australian team has been deeply affected by injuries. Notably, Travis Head suffered an injury in the ODI series and was ruled out of the entire West Indies tour of Australia 2024. Xavier Bartlett was ruled out of the second ODI due to injury after taking a 4-wicket haul in the first ODI. .
However, the Australian pacer will return for the final match. Josh Hazlewood played in the second ODI but will miss the final ODI match in Canberra. The senior pacer will return later in the T20I series. Notably, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are also absent from the AUS vs WI ODI series.
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Matthew Short suffered a hamstring injury in the second ODI
Matthew Short suffered a hamstring injury while batting in the second ODI of AUS vs WI in Sydney. The right-handed batsman scored a crucial 41 runs in the match. However, Matthew Short did not take the field in the second innings due to hamstring problems.
Meanwhile, Matthew Short’s replacement Ben McDermott recently smashed a wonderful century for Queensland in a Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania. The right-handed batsman will return to the ODI team after April 2022, when he played a match against Pakistan.
However, Ben McDermott was part of the IND vs AUS T20I series in November-December last year. So far, the wicketkeeper-batsman has featured in 5 ODIs and 25 T20Is for Australia. He possesses an impressive batting average of 44.60 in ODIs with 1 century and half-century.
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Australia leads ODI series 2-0
Meanwhile, Australia has already clinched the ODI series, and the third ODI of AUS vs WI is a dead game for both sides. Australia won the previous match by 83 runs. They first amassed 258 for 9 batting and then outscored the West Indies for 175.
Sean Abbott won the Player of the Match award for his spectacular crucial knock of 69 runs while batting and his 3 scalps while bowling. Earlier, Australia also won the opening match by 8 wickets. They comfortably chased a target of 232 runs in the match with fifties from three batsmen – Josh Inglis, Cameron Green and Steve Smith.
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After the AUS vs WI ODI series, both the teams will face each other in a three-match T20I series. The opening match will take place on Friday 9 February in Hobart. The next two matches will be played in Adelaide and Perth.