Injury-prone strike bowler Gary Putland has ruled himself out of South Australia’s crucial Sheffield Shield match against Victoria starting on Thursday in Adelaide.
Putland has a thigh strain and will be sidelined as SA (12 points) seek to make ground on the Bushrangers (20 points) on a cluttered Shield ladder.
SA coach Darren Berry said he was “really flat” at losing Putland, who took 12 wickets in the Redbacks’ win against Victoria in the last Shield round in late November.
“It’s disappointing – obviously he was significant last game against this opposition,” Berry told reporters on Wednesday.
“I was really keen for him to play and I made no secret of that … to his credit, he said he didn’t think he could give four days.”
Berry was surprised to have Phil Hughes for the match, thinking the in-form batsman would have featured in Australia’s Twenty20 side.
Hughes and his Australian one-day teammate and Victorian opponent David Hussey will fly into Adelaide early on Thursday after the conclusion of the limited overs series against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
The Redbacks also welcomed back Test spinner Nathan Lyon but Berry admitted concern about emerging paceman Kane Richardson.
The 21-year-old made his Australian one-day debut on January 13 but, after six overs, was banned from further bowling after receiving three warnings for running on the pitch.
Berry said it was likely Richardson would come under more scrutiny from umpires, given his international blemish.
“He played a lot before the Big Bash in our side and there was the occasional warning,” Berry said.
“It was brought to light on the international stage. Kane is aware of that, we’re aware of that, we can’t hide behind that – it’s an issue that he needs to fix.”
Victoria named quick James Pattinson for his first match since suffering a side strain last November, and also included Pakistani-born asylum seeker Fawad Ahmed in their 12-man squad.
Squads:
South Australia: Johan Botha (capt), Callum Ferguson, Travis Head, Phil Hughes, Michael Klinger, Tim Ludeman, Nathan Lyon, Joe Mennie, Sam Raphael, Kane Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Daniel Worrall (12th man to be named)
Victoria: Cameron White (capt), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Michael Hill, David Hussey, James Muirhead, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Chris Rogers, Will Sheridan (12th man to be named)