Neser sidelined by side strain, Swepson to get extra hit-out

Michael Neser has been all-but ruled out of Australia's tour of Pakistan after scans confirmed he had suffered a side strain, with no date set for his return to action.

Neser injured himself while warming up to bowl during the innings break of Queensland's Marsh One-Day Cup match against NSW at the Gabba earlier this week.

He attempted to push on but was able to bowl just two deliveries before leaving the field, the second of which was a wide.

Queensland coach Wade Seccombe said Neser had scans late on Tuesday and the state will now work with Cricket Australia's medical staff to map out a plan for the 31-year-old who earned his first Test cap during the Ashes summer.

"It's bad luck for Michael and we're hoping he makes a speedy recovery," Seccombe said.

Fellow Queenslander Mark Steketee looms as a likely replacement if Neser is ruled out of the Australian Test squad, although CA has delayed formally making any changes at this stage.

Steketee was also part of the Australia squad for the Test tour of South Africa that was cancelled in early 2021 and is currently the Sheffield Shield's leading wicket-taker this season with 29 scalps at 16.31 from five games.

Steketee will again spearhead the Bulls attack in their next Shield clash against Victoria with the uncapped 28-year-old heading to Melbourne today ahead of the match at Junction Oval beginning Friday.

Australia Test squad members Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne have remained behind in Brisbane to prepare for the Pakistan tour, but leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson will play after bowling just two overs in the Shield clash with NSW last week.

Victoria are also set to include Test squad members Marcus Harris and Scott Boland in their squad for the Shield clash with the Bulls to give them another hit-out before the series.

CA had initially said players selected to tour Pakistan would be available for selection in domestic matches until February 17, but that has been pushed back on a case-by-case basis.

The first Test against Pakistan begins in little more than a fortnight, starting on March 4 in Rawalpindi, with no warm-up games scheduled.

Australia will have just 12 days between the final Dettol T20 against Sri Lanka – a series featuring Australia's first-choice Test pace attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Starc – before the Test starts, with Neser's injury putting the spotlight on the workload facing fast bowlers.

A similar scenario faced Australia's top quicks ahead of the Ashes when they entered the series shortly after the T20 World Cup, and interim head coach Andrew McDonald has little worry about the preparation.

"That's one of the great challenges without match practice but with the experience that we've got in Hazlewood, Starc and Cummins, they're very well versed in shifting formats," McDonald said recently.

"We saw that on the back of the T20 World Cup leading into the Ashes, when we didn't need any match practice to get them up and running.

"While we're playing white-ball cricket, there is always a consideration to what it looks like in terms of their loads to get them up for Test cricket. We add those into their training programs, it's all done by design, and we feel as though those guys in particular don't need matches to get up to speed because of where they're at in their careers.

"We're planning this from a long way out and 'Starcy' and Pat Cummins have a bit of a residual hangover from the Ashes so they're not going to lose that loading.

"Hoff [Hazlewood] coming off a side strain is a little bit different but he's been building up for the last four or five weeks.

"He was close to playing the back end of the Ashes and he's been bowling right through. When a player's not playing they're not actually resting, they're still working in the training environment. They're in the gym, they're doing their high-speed running and also their bowling."

NSW bowling-allrounder Sean Abbott is also on standby for the Pakistan tour, but he missed the Shield clash against Queensland as he recovers from a side strain of his own. The Blues' next Shield match is against Tasmania at the SCG from Friday.

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports