Agar sidelined by shoulder surgery

Ashton Agar will be sidelined for up to four months and will have more surgery on the right shoulder he injured in a pre-season training accident last week, ruling him out of the Australia A winter series and the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup.

The news comes as Cricket Australia confirmed Victoria's Peter Handscomb as the Australia A captain for the two four-day first-class matches against South Africa A in Brisbane that open the winter quadrangular series in the Sunshine State.

Image Id: ~/media/7AE6B999A9574F5C8679B13074791A59 Image Caption: Bushrangers skipper Peter Handscomb will lead Australia A // Getty

Agar previously had surgery on the same shoulder in April last year, and a fall at WA's training camp has caused enough damage for doctors to recommend he go under the knife again.

"Ashton had an appointment with a shoulder surgeon earlier this week and a decision was made to have surgery on his right shoulder," said Alex Kountouris, CA's Bupa Support Team Sport Science and Sports Medicine Manager.

"We expect that he will not play cricket for the next three to four months, but the timeframes will become clearer as we monitor his recovery from the procedure."

Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin will be the team's assistant coach as he continues his post-playing career development. Troy Cooley will be the team's head coach.

Quick Single: Haddin, Hussey lined up for coaching roles

Victoria tweaker Jon Holland has been drafted into the side as Agar's replacement and National Selector Rod Marsh lamented the "unfortunate timing" of the WA spinner's injury.

"Jon had an impressive Sheffield Shield season taking eight wickets during Victoria's win in the final and was Victoria's top wicket-taker at the Matador Cup, earning him the Dean Jones Medal at the end of the season," Marsh said.

"Peter Handscomb and Cameron Bancroft both have had impressive seasons and demonstrated strong leadership skills which confirms their appointments of captain and vice-captain respectively.

Image Id: ~/media/B521D47A819E42C88B25FE6571F271B3 Image Caption: Jon Holland has been called up // Getty

"It is important that we continue to build our arsenal of quality fast-bowlers and this squad features some new faces such as Joe Mennie and Dan Worrall, both of whom have impressed at Shield level.

"We are lucky enough to have some talented young up-and-coming batsmen performing well. This combined with the experience of Scott Boland and Marcus Stoinis at the national level bolsters the squad nicely."

Quick Single: Abbott headlines NPS squad

Queensland Bulls young guns Matthew Renshaw and Mitchell Swepson have been named in the A team for the first-class fixtures, but will revert to the National Performance Squad for the one-day series.

The squad assembles at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane on Sunday ahead of the opening match against South Africa A at the adjacent Allan Border Field on July 30.

Every match of the Australia A winter series will be live streamed on cricket.com.au and the Cricket Australia Live App.

Australia A squad to face South Africa A: Peter Handscomb (c), Cameron Bancroft, Scott Boland, Jon Holland, Jake Lehmann, Joe Mennie, Kurtis Patterson, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Chris Tremain, Sam Whiteman, Dan Worrall.

Full Australia A series details

Full Australia A squad: Cameron Bancroft, Scott Boland, Cameron Boyce, Travis Dean, Peter Handscomb, Sam Heazlett, Jake Lehmann, Chris Lynn, Joe Mennie, Kurtis Patterson, Joel Paris, Matt Renshaw, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Chris Tremain, Dan Worrall, Sam Whiteman.

National Performance Squad: Sean Abbott (NSW), Hilton Cartwright (WA), Kyle Gardiner (WA), David Grant (SA), Sam Grimwade (Vic), Sam Harper (Vic), Sam Heazlett (Qld), Clint Hinchliffe (WA), Josh Inglis (WA), Caleb Jewell (Tas), David Moody (WA), Arjun Nair (NSW), Tom O'Donnell (Vic), Matthew Renshaw (Qld), Matthew Short (Vic), Mitchell Swepson (Qld).

South Africa A four-day squad: Stephen Cook (c), Qaasim Adams, Temba Bavuma, Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Omphile Ramela, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas, Hardus Viljoen 

South Africa A one-day squad: Wayne Parnell (c), Qaasim Adams, Marchant de Lange, Reeza Hendricks, Heino Kuhn, Eddie Leie, Sisanda Magala, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw, Malusi Siboto, Khaya Zondo, David Miller, Dane Vilas 

India A squad: Naman Ojha (capt), Faiz Fazal, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Varun Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Barinder Sran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sanju Samson.

Fixtures

Four-day matches 

30 July – 2 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
6 August – 9 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

One-day Series

13 August, South Africa A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
14 August, Australia A v India A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
16 August, Australia A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
17 August, South Africa A v India A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
20 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
21 August, India A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
24 August, NPS v Australia A, Harrup Park, Mackay
25 August, South Africa A v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay
27 August, NPS v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay
28 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Harrup Park, Mackay
30 August, Australia A v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay
31 August, South Africa A v NPS, Harrup Park, Mackay
3 September; Final 3 v 4, Harrup Park, Mackay
4 September, Final 1 v 2, Harrup Park, Mackay

Four-day matches

8-11 September, Australia A v India A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
15-18 September, Australia A v India A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane