Australia win soured by double-injury blow

Australia have been dealt a cruel double blow with star batsmen Aaron Finch and Chris Lynn ruled out of the two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka due to injury.

Lynn suffered yet another unfortunate injury setback when he dislocated his left shoulder during a routine fielding drill before the fifth and final one-day international in Kandy, while Finch was forced from the field during Sri Lanka’s innings when he hurt his right index finger attempting a catch in the cordon, with confirmation of a fracture coming from the team camp after the tourists clinched the series 4-1.

Quick Single: Clinical Australia claim ODI series 4-1

Finch was unable to take his place in the batting order later in the evening as wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade joined Player-of-the-Match David Warner at the top of the order.

Wade will now take Lynn’s place in the T20 squad and ODI Player of the Series George Bailey will also stay for Tuesday’s match in Finch’s absence, before Bailey returns home ahead of the tour finale in Colombo on Friday night and Finch will stay to assist the team as required off the field.

The latest injury update follows Shaun Marsh's fractured finger in last week's third ODI that resulted in a call-up to the T20 squad for Usman Khawaja, as well as the back issue that forced Nathan Coulter-Nile to also return home during the 50-over series.

Lynn has spent the past two days training with the national squad after joining the touring party late last week for the pair of T20s to be played in Kandy and Colombo this week.

The injury occurred when Lynn attempted a dive during the fielding drill, with the 26-year-old in obvious pain prior to the ODI side making their way out onto the field for yesterday’s encounter.

He was later seen with his arm in a sling on the player’s balcony as Australia went about clinching the ODI series 4-1 and restore some pride following the Test thrashing.

“Chris dislocated his left shoulder whilst diving during a fielding drill at training today," said Bupa Support Team Physiotherapist David Beakley.

“Consequently he will be unavailable for the remaining matches and instead will return to Brisbane to undergo further investigation to determine the full extent of the injury.

“Aaron was hit on the right index finger when fielding a ball and subsequent x-rays have shown a fracture which means he will not be available for the remaining two T20 International matches.” 

The latest injury marks another devastating chapter in Lynn’s recent cricket history, having injured the same shoulder in each of the past two years to halt his charge towards more regular appearances at international level where he has stepped out in five T20s for Australia.

So much so that Lynn’s lack of pre-Christmas activity in recent seasons has meant he hasn’t represented Queensland in the domestic one-day tournament since 2013 when he blasted an unbeaten 58 in a triumphant run chase in the final against New South Wales.

In July 2014, Lynn was forced to undergo surgery on his left shoulder midway through the quadrangular ‘A’ series in Darwin before making a return to action during the fourth edition of the KFC Big Bash League.

The powerful right-hander crunched a breathtaking 250 against Victoria a few weeks later in a triumphant return to first-class cricket and again send a reminder of his ability in the longer format.

Following an Australian winter last year that saw Lynn tour India with the ‘A’ squad and rise to the role of captain with Queensland, injury again struck on the eve of the domestic summer.

Another full-length dive at training resulted in a dislocation of the same shoulder and, although no surgery was required this time around, he was forced to sit on the sidelines until a BBL campaign that yielded a league-high 378 runs at the blistering strike rate of 173.39.

After a lean Indian Premier League display for Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this year, Lynn resumed his scintillating T20 form in the Caribbean Premier League where he again led the tournament with 454 runs to ensure he was at the top of his game for his stint as Australia A captain for the recently concluded one-day series.

A quickfire 56 not out against South Africa A last Sunday had the Queenslander well prepared for a Sri Lankan trip that had the potential to eliminate the doubts about his ability to perform on the slower wickets in the subcontinent.

Unfortunately, that opportunity will now be delayed.

Australia T20 squad: David Warner (c), George Bailey (first T20 only), Scott Boland, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

Fixtures

Tuesday – Pallekele Stadium at 11:30pm AEST

Friday – Premadasa Stadium at 11:30pm AEST