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Keegan Petersen’s participation in South Africa’s Test series in Australia could be in doubt after the batter was stretchered off the field in the CSA T20 Challenge final.Petersen was fielding on the deep square boundary in the sixth over of Titans’ innings and sprinted to deep midwicket to cut off a Theunis de Bruyn flick. He prevented the boundary but went down immediately, clutching his left hamstring and grimacing. He was taken off the field and left the ground in an ambulance.Earlier, Petersen scored a 51-ball 63 and added 115 for the second wicket with JJ Smuts as Dolphins set Titans a target of 163.South Africa’s three-match Test tour to Australia starts on December 17. The first round of South Africa’s domestic red-ball matches starts later this week, though Dolphins are only due to play their opening match from November 17. There will be three rounds of fixtures before the Test team departs for Australia, and those matches would have been vital for Petersen, who had a poor tour of England. Petersen scored only 122 runs in five innings at 24.40 in England, and is still without a Test century after ten matches.Should Petersen be unavailable for the Australia Tests, South Africa will need a replacement at No. 3. Rassie van der Dussen, who broke his right index finger in the second Test in England, is expected to be fit and could slot into the role. South Africa’s batting will also be boosted by Temba Bavuma, who missed the England tour with an elbow injury, and they have back-up options in Ryan Rickelton and Khaya Zondo.The series will be the team’s first international engagement post the Mark Boucher era. Boucher resigned from his post as head coach to take up a role at Mumbai Indians. Malibongwe Maketa has been named interim coach to take South Africa to Australia.

England Women have suffered a major injury setback at the start of their tour of the Caribbean, with Alice Capsey sustaining a broken collarbone after landing heavily in the field during the first ODI in Antigua on Sunday.Capsey, 18, had been promoted to open the batting for the first time, making 17 from 13 balls, but is set to fly home from the UK and is now a serious doubt for the rest of England’s winter engagements, including the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February.”Alice Capsey sustained an injury on the field during the first ODI against West Indies Women,” read an ECB statement. “Upon further examination, she has broken her left collar bone and will be unavailable for the remainder of the tour. Capsey will now return home to the UK.”The injury occurred as Capsey dived at fine leg to intercept a top-edged hook during England’s 142-run win the first ODI. She was in obvious pain as she remained on the ground for several minutes to receive treatment, but was eventually able to walk from the field before being taken to hospital for further treatment.It’s a major setback both for Capsey personally, but also for England, who had hoped to bed her into her new top-order role, alongside Sophia Dunkley, as part of a new more attacking outlook under the incoming head coach Jon Lewis.Capsey was awarded her first ECB central contract in November, and had just returned from her maiden stint with Melbourne Stars in the Women’s Big Bash.Nat Sciver, the senior allrounder who made her comeback from a three-month mental health break to be named Player of the Match for her decisive innings of 90 off 96 balls, said she and the team were “gutted” for Capsey.”When anyone goes down on the pitch you’re not really sure what’s happened and it’s a weird thing to stand as a group on the pitch and feel sorry for your team-mate, feel sorry for your friend,” Sciver said.”We found out this morning that she’s going home, so just really, really gutted for her. She’ll be back, she’ll be back firing, I’m sure.”It’s a broken collarbone and I don’t know how long that means the recovery time is. She’ll be as gutted as anyone really to be missing out on this trip and I don’t know what that means for the new year.”

England smashed the highest ever women’s T20 World Cup total in a record 114-run thrashing of Pakistan in Newlands to complete an unbeaten group phase.Electing to bat in sunny conditions, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt hit blistering half-centuries to propel England to 213 for 5, an almost flawless performance ahead of the semi-finals.After Wyatt powered England to a fast start, Sciver-Brunt took over with an unbeaten 81 from 40 balls and she combined in a century stand with Amy Jones to destroy Pakistan’s short-handed attack.England were just as ruthless with the ball to secure top spot in Group 2 and they will face South Africa or New Zealand in the semi-finals.

England obliterate Pakistan attack

In what was essentially a dead rubber, England were determined not to ease up and they eyed a formidable total against a weakened Pakistan attack with just one seamer.England have batted fearlessly under coach Jon Lewis, but this belligerent effort took them to new heights with a sustained assault through the innings.Wyatt kicked it off by smashing left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal for six and a four in the first over. She unleashed a range of strokes, including several sweet blows over cover, to reach her half-century off just 29 balls.It was a return to form for Wyatt, who had only scored 27 runs in England’s three previous matches this tournament.Sciver-Brunt, however, entered with confidence and played aggressively from the get go even though England wobbled at 33 for 2. She used her feet with authority against Pakistan’s spinners and scored at will all around the wicket.Sciver-Brunt and Jones took advantage of an increasingly ragged Pakistan attack and smashed 88 runs off the last six overs as England became the first team to post 200 in a Women’s T20 World Cup match.Nida Dar finished with 1 for 47 from four overs•ICC via Getty Images

Dar becomes women’s T20I highest wicket-taker

With Pakistan captain Bismah Mahroof missing due to a groin injury, Nida Dar grabbed the reins for the first time as she eyed breaking the record for most wickets in women’s T20Is.She entered tied with West Indian Anisa Mohammed on 125 wickets and had been in good form with her accurate offspin snaring four wickets in her previous matches against West Indies and Ireland.But Dar struggled to find her length after coming into the attack in the sixth over and was immediately under fierce examination from Sciver-Brunt, who hit a boundary through cover first ball.A rattled Dar leaked 25 runs off her first two overs before returning in the 13th over to claim opposite number Heather Knight, who holed out. It was enough for her to re-write the record books but proved the only moment of joy. Dar finished with 1 for 47 from four overs.

England tear through Pakistan’s batting order

England had been searching for a complete performance and were keen to complement their earlier effort with the bat.They did exactly that with Katherine Sciver-Brunt dismissing recalled opener Sadaf Shamas on the second ball of the innings. She also claimed Omaima Sohail to leave Pakistan 15 for 3 with the result a foregone conclusion.The wickets kept tumbling with Pakistan spiralling to 54 for 7 before Tuba Hassan and Fatima Sana mustered some belated fight with a 37-run partnership. But the disastrous run-out of Tuba symbolised Pakistan’s abject performance as they suffered the biggest defeat in women’s T20 World Cup history.

Anrich Nortje had to change his bat after he walked out as the No. 11 during Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) chase against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Tuesday. The bat he went out with failed the gauge test carried out by the on-field umpires, according to TV commentators.Separately, a video that showed Sunil Narine’s bat seemingly failing the gauge test before the start of the chase has also been doing the rounds of social media.The Nortje incident took place at the start of the 16th over of KKR’s innings. The game was paused as substitute Rahmanullah Gurbaz went out carrying spare bats for Nortje. The replacement bat passed the test, but Nortje did not get to use it as Andre Russell was bowled immediately after, with PBKS pulling off the lowest successful defence in IPL history.Related

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In the past, bat checks were carried out inside the dressing room but on Sunday, during the Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) game and the Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) game, the checks were being carried out on the field of play. According to the IPL playing conditions, the width of the bat face should not exceed 10.8cm, the thickness of the blade shouldn’t be more than 6.7cm, and the width of the edge of the bat cannot be more than 4.0cm. The length of the bat should not exceed 96.52cm.This was Nortje’s first match of IPL 2025 as he made a much-awaited return from the back injury that he had suffered during the SA20. With the ball, he returned figures of 1 for 23 from his three overs.On Tuesday, RR batter Nitish Rana, whose bat was checked during their game against RCB, said he had no problem with the process.”There is shortage of time in T20s, and if the umpires have the time to check the bat, I guess it is their right to do so – even my bat was checked,” he said on the eve of RR’s game against DC in Delhi. “In that game, bats of 60-70% batsmen were checked. It is fair enough, we don’t have a say in that, it is not a controllable. The bats are made by the company that sponsors us. But if umpires want to check it for their satisfaction, we don’t have a problem.”

New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy is the new No. 1 men’s T20I bowler. Duffy takes the top spot from West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein following his superb returns during New Zealand’s T20Is against Pakistan at home.Duffy picked up 13 wickets in five games at an average of 8.38, which also included a career-best of 4 for 14, to help New Zealand seal the series 4-1. He rose four spots, crossing Hosein, Varun Chakaravarthy, Adil Rashid and Wanindu Hasaranga to get to the top. This is Duffy’s first No.1 ranking in any format. He is also the first New Zealand player to hold the top spot in men’s T20I bowling rankings since Ish Sodhi in 2018.Duffy made his T20I debut for New Zealand in 2020 and has 32 wickets in 23 games.”It’s a bit of a surprise [becoming the No. 1 bowler],” Duffy said.”That’s awesome to be among some players on that list. Great recognition, it’s pretty cool. It’s kind of surreal, to be honest.”In the batting charts, Duffy’s team-mate Tim Seifert has climbed five spots up to No. 8. Seifert scored a total of 249 runs in five matches against Pakistan at an average of 62.25. Seifert also scored his career-best of 97* in the fifth T20I in the 129 chase. Seifert’s opening partner Finn Allen gained one place to move to 15th in the batting rankings. Australia batter Travis Head retains his No. 1 position on this list, with India’s Abhishek Sharma and England’s Phil Salt at No. 2 and 3, respectively.Among allrounders, New Zealand’s James Neesham jumped 14 places to 30th on the list following some solid efforts against Pakistan, which also included a career-best 5 for 22 in the fifth T20I.

The naivety of youth. That’s the secret to reverse scooping Jasprit Bumrah for six, according to Sam Konstas.Not many 19-year-olds are conscious of how naive they are. But Konstas appears to be. He reverse scooped Bumrah twice to the boundary, and lap scooped him once, in his astonishing debut innings at the MCG, despite having nearly got out to the reverse scoop twice in the first three overs.Konstas had no fear of what might have been said had he got out to that shot, opting to focus on the scoring possibility rather than the consequences of an error.”I think it probably will look silly if I did get out,” Konstas said at the end of a day when 87,242 fans came to the MCG. “But I’ve worked pretty hard on that shot, and I feel like it’s probably a safe shot for me really. But I think that’s the beauty about being young and maybe a bit naive. I’m just trying to put pressure back on the bowler in the best way I think is, and it was good to get a few runs today.”Related

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• Kohli fined 20% of match fees after heated altercation with Konstas at MCG

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Konstas showed the value of playing the ball and not the man. Bumrah had tormented Australia’s batters through the first three Test matches and tormented them again after Konstas was out by picking up three scalps – Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh – to drag India back into the game.He threatened to torture Konstas as well, having beaten him four times in the opening over and seven times in his first three, which included the two failed reverse scoops. But Konstas was completely unflustered.”I think I was just getting used to the wicket, first time facing him, getting used to his action,” Konstas said. “Obviously, he beat my bat quite a few times, and [I] was lucky enough to get a few away. But it was a great contest.”He’s a legend of the game, obviously, so I was trying to put a bit of pressure on him, and it paid off today. But obviously, he took three wickets and he changed the momentum. But I think I’m always challenging myself, trying to bring the best out of myself, so just getting that contest with him and trying to take his lines away.”He took more than his lines away. He did something no one had done to Bumrah in his Test career. Bumrah conceded 18 runs in an over for the first time. He conceded 38 in a six-over spell for the first time. He got hit for six for the first time in nearly four years and conceded two sixes to an individual for just the second time.Konstas explained that his reverse scoop was premeditated and designed to get the field changes that India ended up granting him.”Yeah, definitely premeditated, especially with the pace,” Konstas said. “[I was] just trying to keep my head still and just watch it as hard onto my bat. But yeah, got a few away today and changed the field, which was good, and then trying to [get them to] bowl in my zones.”Sam Konstas took on Jasprit Bumrah with high-risk reverse scoops•Getty Images

It is something former Australia captain Mark Taylor, the man who presented Konstas his baggy green at the start of the day, would have never dreamed of doing during his era. But Konstas is grateful to playing in a generation where he is allowed to express himself.”Yeah, definitely,” Konstas said. “I reckon maybe 20-30 years ago people were probably saying, defend a lot, just bat all day. But I think the new generation, new shots, it’s exciting for me. Obviously, I like doing that, putting pressure back on the bowlers, and hopefully it pays off for the next innings.”India also got baited into trying to intimidate him and paid an enormous price for it. Mohammed Siraj sledged him verbally and got dispatched to the boundary next ball.Virat Kohli deliberately bumped into him to spark a verbal argument which Konstas didn’t back down from. Konstas thought the bump was an accident but he said he enjoyed India coming at him.”I was just doing my gloves and I think he accidentally bumped me,” Konstas said. “But I think that’s just cricket, just the tension.”I was just trying to get in the contest and whoever I was facing, just trying to bring the best version of myself. Obviously, it got heated at times, which was good for me. Just feel like that brings the best out of me.”

Shafali Verma and Jess Jonassen smashed merciless unbeaten fifties to steer Delhi Capitals (DC) into the WPL 2025 playoffs with a nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday. It was RCB’s fourth defeat in a row, and they ended without a single win in the Bengaluru leg of the tournament.Ellyse Perry once again led RCB’s fight after they were sent in, scoring an unbeaten 60 to help the side post 147 for 5, but it wasn’t enough against the table-toppers, who had Shikha Pandey and debutant left-arm spinner Shree Charani picking up two wickets apiece.The chase though got off on a tricky note for DC, who lost Meg Lanning in the third over, but Shafali and Jonassen put on an unbroken 146 for the second wicket off just 77 balls – the highest partnership for any wicket in a WPL run chase. The Chinnaswamy was left silenced as DC romped home with 27 balls remaining.Ellyse Perry hit three sixes on her way to an unbeaten 60 off 47 balls•BCCI

Perry anchors RCB innings

Perry came into this game with three fifties in RCB’s first five games, and she was once again central to her team’s fortunes on a slow surface. While there were starts from Danni Wyatt-Hodge (21 off 18) and Raghvi Bist (33 off 32), neither went on to a big score. It was left to Perry to anchor the innings and keep the scorecard ticking at a healthy rate.Coming in after Pandey had dismissed Smriti Mandhana in the second over for another low score (8), Perry was up and running in Pandey’s next over by crashing a wide half-volley over the covers for four. She then hit a six each off spinners Jonassen, Charani and Minnu Mani.Perry put on a brisk 44 with Wyatt-Hodge for the second wicket, and 66 with Bist for the third. With Bist struggling to middle the ball, however, that partnership consumed 54 balls.Perry reached her fourth fifty of the season, off 37 balls, in the 14th over. At the end of the 16th over, RCB were 119 for 2 and eyeing a strong finish. But they fell apart, scoring just 28 in the last four overs for the loss of three wickets. Perry only faced seven balls in the last five overs, scoring eight runs off them.With 295 runs in six innings, Perry has overtaken Nat Sciver-Brunt to become the tournament’s leading run-scorer.Sree Charani finished with figures of 2 for 28 on WPL debut•BCCI

Charani shines on debut

DC preferred Charani over fast bowler Titas Sadhu and she looked in her element. Unfazed by the huge turnout at the Chinnaswamy, Charani used the turn that was on offer in the first innings, kept the stumps in play, constantly angling the ball into middle and leg over the course of a tight spell. She removed Bist and Richa Ghosh in a momentum-changing 17th over to deflate RCB at the death, and ended with figures of 2 for 28 from four overs.

Chinnaswamy fast follows Chinnaswamy feast for Mandhana

Mandhana owned the Chinnaswamy during WPL 2024, scoring 219 runs in five innings, including two half-centuries, at a strike rate of 154.22. This season, however, she has perished to ill-judged shots, accumulating just 50 runs in four innings at her home ground at a strike rate of 102.04. On Saturday, she chased a Pandey delivery shaping away from off stump and edged to Lanning at wide slip.

Left-right combination works for DC

RCB had an excellent start to their bowling powerplay, conceding just five runs in the first three overs. Renuka Singh displayed excellent control with her swing, with almost all of her deliveries finishing within the stumps. She removed Lanning for a 12-ball 2, with Perry taking a sharp chance at mid-on. But once Jonassen joined Shafali, runs started flowing for DC, and it became hard for RCB to keep them quiet.This was the second time Jonassen walked out at No. 3. She had scored another unbeaten 61 from that position at the same ground against Gujarat Giants. With DC’s top order predominantly made up of right-hand batters, they promoted the left-handed Jonassen and it began to unsettle RCB. Jonassen looked fluent in her 38-ball stay, hitting nine fours and a straight six off left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht.Shafali, who had been out in the 40s three times before this game, played a composed knock, showing a desire to not throw her wicket away after a bright start. She ended with her top score of the season, smashing eight fours and four sixes (two each on the off and leg sides) and hammered the bowling to all parts.As DC neared their target, RCB’s bowling began to wither, and Shafali and Jonassen duly punished them. From 68 for 1 after nine overs, DC sprinted to their target, hitting eight fours and five sixes while ransacking 83 runs off what turned out to be the last 39 balls of their innings.

Shubman Gill has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Rohit Sharma as the full-time Test captain starting with India’s Test tour of England, a five-Test series starting on June 20 at Headingley.Gill’s ascension, it is understood, has become inevitable after it became apparent that Jasprit Bumrah, who was the vice-captain of the Test team on India’s Test tour of Australia, and led the team in the two Tests Rohit missed, is likely to miss a few Tests in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for workload management.The squad is expected to be picked when the selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, meets later this month. With that series kicking off the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for India, it is understood that the selectors want a captain with a long-term view in mind, making Gill, 25, the preferred option.Related

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• Pujara feels India 'need a couple of series' to figure out Kohli's replacement

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• High peaks, imperfect bookends: Rohit, the Test batter

The question of Rohit’s successor in the Test side cropped up once he announced his decision to retire from the format on Wednesday. Bumrah is the designated vice-captain of the Test team, and led in two of the five Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, in December 2024 and January 2025, when Rohit had missed out – he was at home for the birth of his child for the first Test of the series, and “stood down” for the last.But ESPNcricinfo understands that Bumrah’s workload as the all-format spearhead of India’s fast-bowling attack as well as the fact that he has only recently returned from a stress-related discomfort in his lower back – picked up during that final Test in Australia – after missing the initial few matches of IPL 2025, has been a concern for the team management and selectors.Of the players who were part of the set-up in the Sydney Test – the last time India played in the format – KL Rahul has led in three Tests in the past, and Virat Kohli was the long-term captain before Rohit took charge.Gill has never led in Test matches or ODIs, but has led the team in five T20Is, all on a tour of Zimbabwe in mid-2024 when he was named captain of a side that missed several first-choice players following India’s victory in the preceding T20 World Cup.That Gill was being groomed for the top job has been mentioned in various circles over the past few months, and his performance as batter and captain of Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL season has been impressive. Gill took over the leadership of the team in 2024 after Hardik Pandya, who had led them to the title in their maiden season (2022) and the final the following year, left to rejoin Mumbai Indians (MI). IPL 2024 didn’t go well for GT, but they have been one of the best performing teams this season.Gill has been a regular in the India Test team since making his debut in Melbourne in December 2020, when he scored 45 and 35 not out against a full-strength Australia bowling attack in a Test India won by eight wickets under Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy. He has played 32 Tests overall, scoring 1893 runs at an average of 35.05 with five centuries and seven half-centuries.

Western Australia booked a third straight home Sheffield Shield final after defeating Victoria and leapfrogging Tasmania to top spot on the ladder.The dual defending champions needed everything to go right in their last regular-season game to keep alive their hopes of a Shield three-peat. They rose to the challenge, defeating Victoria by 138 runs in a virtual elimination final at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.Related

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Set 269 to win, Victoria were skittled for 130 late on a rain-affected day three of the match. The home side never looked like pulling off the unlikely run chase on a difficult pitch, stumbling to 31 for 3 with their three most experienced batters – Nic Maddinson, Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb – already dismissed.Harris was superbly held low down at second slip by Cameron Bancroft off Joel Paris then Maddinson was cleaned up from around the wicket by Cameron Gannon who had set up WA’s strong position with five wickets in the first innings.Young left-hander Campbell Kellaway showed why he has a bright future, hitting 53 from 136 balls for his fifth first-class half-century.After coming in at No. 3, Kellaway survived the carnage around him as WA’s bowlers worked in tandem to complete the match on Wednesday.Corey Rocchiccioli was pumped as he bowled WA to the brink•Getty Images

Spinner Corey Rocchiccioli went through the lower order to be on a hat-trick after dismissing Fergus O’Neill and Todd Murphy in consecutive balls.Left-armer Liam Haskett finished with the best figures of his first-class career, including the key scalp of Matt Short lbw from around the wicket, and ended the match after Kellaway was caught going for a slog pull shot.Victoria captain Will Sutherland almost broke down when describing the pain of the defeat.”Our batting let us dow …the boys ran out of steam a little bit with the ball,” he said. “We’re still a young group, but I think this one does hurt quite a bit …almost hurts more than making the final and losing, I don’t know why.”Sutherland (back), Test quick Scott Boland (knee) and O’Neill (illness) all struggled through the match.WA will host the five-day final against Tasmania at the WACA Ground, starting on March 21, after the Tigers blew a golden opportunity to ensure the decider was played in Hobart.Tasmania started the round in the box seat to secure a home final, only needing to defeat South Australia at Blundstone Arena to lock it in.But they suffered a shock 134-run loss – just their second defeat of the season – against the Redbacks to consign them to a trip to Perth.WA are aiming to become just the third team this century, after Queensland (2000-02) and Victoria (2015-17), to win three straight Shield titles.Tasmania won the last of their three Shield finals back in 2012-13 when Ricky Ponting was still playing.”The pleasing thing about this group is there’s no real talk about three in a row,” WA captain Sam Whiteman said. “It’s just about winning this year, and we’ve found this year that Shields are so hard to win, a lot of things need to go your way.”

David Warner is in an 18-day race to be fit in time for the opening Test of the summer against India, after he was formally ruled out of the remainder of the white-ball matches and replaced in the squad by D’Arcy Short, while Australia’s vice-captain Pat Cummins is also to be spelled until the opening long-from game at Adelaide Oval from December 17.The groin/adductor tear Warner suffered while fielding against India on Sunday night at the SCG has not been ruled serious enough to remove him from calculations for the start of the Test series, although he will need to make a rapid recovery given the short turnaround time.Former Cricket Australia team doctor Peter Brukner suggested* that in his experience, similar injuries were likely to take between four and six weeks to heal, and said that Warner would be more likely to be fit in time for the second Test at the MCG on Boxing Day than the first.”It certainly seemed to be a significant injury, what we’d call a grade two, the fact he’s not having surgery indicates he hasn’t torn it off the bone or anything like that, but it was clearly more than a grade one and traditionally we’d say that was a four to six week injury if you’re looking at a footballer, hopefully closer to four than to six,” Brukner told SEN Radio. “It’s 18 days between yesterday and the start of the first Test, so that’s cutting it pretty fine.”Probably the odds are that he’s not going to make it, but knowing Davey he’ll give it a good crack and he’s in superb shape and he’ll do everything possible, he’ll be very well looked after by the physios, David Beakley and his group. So I think he’s a chance but probably the odds are against him playing the first Test – second Test should be fine, much more realistic.”Australia’s opening two victories over India made it patently clear how valuable Warner is as a top order batsman in home conditions, forming a platform against the new ball but also scoring freely and setting up an innings for the likes of Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Australia’s’ coach Justin Langer said Warner’s timely return would be pivotal to the Test team’s fortunes, in addition to giving Cummins some time off following his IPL stint and lengthy quarantine.ALSO WATCH: David Warner run out by direct hit (Indian subcontinent only)“Pat and Davey are critical to our plans for the Test Series,” Langer said. “Davey will work through his injury rehab and in Pat’s case it is important all of our players are managed well to keep them mentally and physically fit throughout what is a challenging summer. The priority for both is being fully prepared for one of the biggest and most important home Test Series we have played in recent years, especially with World Test Championship points up for grabs.”Labuschagne said that Australia needed to adapt to a scenario where they would be missing Warner for at least four matches, but he expected the super-fit 33-year-old to make his return for the Test series.”He’s been a massive part of us winning this series and it’s not great that we’ve lost him, but like anything it provides an opportunity for someone else to step up in the top order and make runs,” Labuschagne said. “It’s unfortunately how the game works, there’s always an opportunity for someone else when something like that happens. We hope Davey gets a speedy recovery and he’s back as soon as we can get him. He’s a very strong character and he’ll be back.”I hope he’s back for the Test series, but I’m not a physio or a doctor, so I think for us it’s just about being able to adapt. We need to make sure we adapt for this last one-dayer and then if he’s not available it provides an opportunity for someone else to step up. That’s how we have to play it.”Short had been on standby in Sydney in the event of injury, and comes into the team with the benefit of a couple of Sheffield Shield appearances for Western Australia earlier in the season. It remains to be seen whether he slots straight in opposite Aaron Finch at the top of the order, or the selectors shuffle around their other available options, including that of Matthew Wade.The uncertainty around Warner’s fitness adds further intrigue to debate around the opening spots in the Test team, as the incumbent Joe Burns and the aspiring talent of Will Pucovski wait in hope of chances to wear the baggy green this summer. Labuschagne said that Burns was capable of stepping up to play a more senior role should Warner be absent.”Joe’s averaging 40 in Test cricket so he’s certainly established and he’s got four Test hundreds, so he’s a very good player,” Labuschagne said. “Although he hasn’t made the runs in Shield cricket he would’ve liked, he got 99 [97] against Pakistan in the first Test last summer and he negotiated through that new ball period almost every time.”So he’s not far away from a couple of really big scores and I think if he was to step up into that senior opener role, 100% I think he’s that sort of player that can step up if the team really needs it.”Meanwhile, allrounder Mitchell Marsh will not join the Australia A squad for the matches against India as he continues his recovery from the ankle injury sustained at the IPL. He will now target a return in the BBL with the Perth Scorchers.