Short doubtful for Australia's Champions Trophy semi
March 1 (Reuters) - Australia's Matt Short looks set to miss the Champions Trophy semi-finals after suffering a thigh injury during Friday's abandoned Group B match against Afghanistan in Lahore.
Skipper Steve Smith said the opener, who suffered the quad injury while fielding but struggled on to make 20 runs from 15 balls before the game was washed out, was unlikely to be fit to face India or New Zealand on Tuesday or Wednesday.
"I think he'll be struggling," Smith said. "I think we saw tonight he wasn't moving very well. I think it's probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover."
Jake Fraser-McGurk would offer similar skills as a replacement for Short at the top of the batting order, while young spin-bowling all-rounder Cooper Connolly is Australia's travelling reserve.
"We've got a few guys there to come in to fill a job," Smith added.
A second abandoned game from three group matches assured Australia of a spot in the semi-finals but they will not know their opposition nor the venue for the match until after India face New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Does he Google excuses?' – Fans stunned as Neymar sidelined again with shock illness amid nightmare run at Santos
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NEYMAR JR has been ruled out for Santos one again as his nightmare run of unavailability continues. The Brazilian superstar has played just 12 times for Santos since rejoining his boyhood club back in January. 2 Neymar Jr has been rules out with Covid-19 Credit: Reuters Fitness and injury struggles has meant fans have barely caught a glimpse of the 128-time Brazil international. And they won't be able to see him play any time soon either after it was revealed that he has contracted Covid-19 and is unable to play. A statement from Santos confirmed that the former PSG and Barcelona winger has been isolating since Thursday and is now recovering at home on the advice of a doctor. Fans can't quite believe that Neymar is set to be out of action once again, having already missed 10 games this season. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL LIONESS LOVE SPLIT England's Millie Bright leaves fiancé & falls for married gym trainer One wrote: "He will do anything but play football". While another asked: "Does he Google excuses?" A third added: "Bro ran out of injuries, he brought back the pandemic". And a fourth joked: "Bro really does everything to not play a game at his club". 2 Neymar managed just seven appearances for Al-Hilal Credit: Getty CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Neymar saw his time in Saudi Arabia follow a similar trend, with an ACL injury seeing him miss the majority of his time in the Middle East. The Samba star manged just SEVEN games in total for Al-Hilal, despite signing a two-year deal worth a reported £129m-per-season. Neymar and girlfriend Bruna Biancardi hold spectacular gender reveal to announce she is expecting their second child Injuries and a lack of football have also meant that Neymar hasn't represented the Brazilian national team since 2023. But new Selecao boss Carlo Ancelotti hasn't ruled out a shock call up in the near future, despite leaving the 33-year-old out of his first squad selection. Speaking to the media, he said: "'In this call-up, I selected the players who are doing well. "Neymar has just returned from injury, everyone knows his quality and we are counting on him'
Scottish Sun
18 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Fabio Wardley scores stunning one-shot comeback KO of Justis Huni to set up stunning world title shot
Fabio Wardley scores stunning one-shot comeback KO of Justis Huni to set up stunning world title shot FABIO WARDLEY'S baby daughter will arrive just in time to celebrate her daddy's sensational comeback christening. Ipswich's 30-year-old heavyweight boxed his way up from the white-collar obscurity to a headline slot at Portman Road. 3 Fabio Wardley knocked out Justis Huni Credit: Getty 3 It was a huge come from behind win Credit: Reuters 3 Wardley celebrates his huge KO Credit: Getty But he put on a performance worthy of the Tractor Boys' Prem relegation and was dominated by 26-year-old Australian Justis Huni until a sensational 10th round KO. The battered and bruised winner said: "I am so thankful to everyone here, you got me through that, I could not have done it without you. I have never claimed to be Usyk, with all the skills, but I know how to bite down on the gumshield and find a way to win. "I should have performed better but I pulled something special out of the bag. "He pulled out so many tricks and I didn't expect him to bank so many rounds But I screwed my head back on and got the job done." The 26-year-old Aussie caught the hometown hero's attention with a two-jab combination in the opener, stabbing to the body and then the head. But Wardley threatened him back with whipped right hands in spiteful Mexican Fly-branded blue gloves. The Tractor Boys could not intimidate Huni with even their loudest songs and the underdog grew in confidence in the second and scored with the cleaner and more technical shots, while Wardley headhunted bluntly. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Wardley was slapped by three meaty left hooks in the third that had the partisan crowd panicked. But then he landed a peach of a punch that stunned Huni and had him staggering backwards and covering up. Huni ran away with the fourth, cracking Wardley with a pinpoint one-two and clipping him with a left hook. Prior to his one-round demolition of Frazer Clarke, Wardley had a bad reputation for slow starts and was returning to bad habits. Wardley inexplicably dropped his hands for the middle rounds and let his face get flattened by every shot Huni threw. It was bafflingly bad boxing from a fighter who had shown freakish improvements with every previous bout. Huni landed every right hand he aimed and made a bloody mess of the Englishman. Wardley remained a punchbag for the next few, either getting terrible advice from his corner or ignoring anything worthwhile. Huni only took the challenge on five weeks notice and was doing Down Under proud with clever technical boxing and nerves of steel. But, after losing almost every round in a stinker of a performance, Wardley uncorked a life-changing shot hat dropped Huni and he failed to rise from. Wardley is now the WBA "interim" champion with Oleksandr Usyk defending his full version against Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley. And Wardley's Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren insisted the comeback king will be first in line for the winner.
Scottish Sun
21 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Luke Littler dumped out of Nordic Masters in quarter-finals after surprise loss to stablemate Nathan Aspinall
Worst prep ahead of huge debut for Littler later this week NOT SO GREAT DANE Luke Littler dumped out of Nordic Masters in quarter-finals after surprise loss to stablemate Nathan Aspinall LUKE LITTLER was dumped out of the Nordic Darts Masters by Nathan Aspinall. The reigning world champion headed to Copenhagen as the pre-tournament favourite. Advertisement 3 Luke Littler was knocked out of the Nordic Darts Masters Credit: Reuters 3 His close pal Nathan Aspinall beat him 6-3 in the quarter-finals Credit: Getty But he suffered a shock 6-3 defeat by his stablemate in the quarter-finals. This was Littler's first match against a top player since losing to Luke Humphries in the Premier League final last month. And The Nuke was unable to become a Great Dane this weekend in Denmark. Aspinall, 33, roared in delight when he took out double 16. Advertisement READ MORE ON DARTS DART BORED Phil Taylor makes explosive claim about PL Darts and demands urgent change And he gave it back to those in the crowd who had booed him on the oche. For the Stockpot thrower, who is ranked sixth in the world, it was only his SECOND win over the teen sensation in a professional capacity in 16 meetings. It is the first success over the sport's biggest name since a Prem night in Nottingham in March 2024. World No2 Littler won the overall World Series of Darts crown last year in Amsterdam. Advertisement CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Yet this loss is not exactly ideal preparation for his debut appearance at the PDC World Cup of Darts in England colours. Littler will team up with Humphries later this week. Darts host forced to apologise after Nathan Aspinall's X-rated interview with Asp left covering his face in horror The World Cup takes place at Frankfurt's Eissporthalle, with defending champions England given a bye to the second round. Advertisement Humphries teamed up with Michael Smith to lift the trophy in 2024.
