Last Updated on 3 weeks by Charbel Coorey
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Australian trio of skipper Aaron Finch along with middle-order swashbucklers Tim David and Marcus Stoinis are dealing with their respective injury concerns ahead of the defending champions’ upcoming group-stage encounter against Afghanistan at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
“I’ve had a bit of a hammy twinge, I don’t feel too bad at the moment but generally overnight it can stiffen up a bit. I will have a scan (on Tuesday),” Finch opened up on his hamstring issue in the aftermath of their 42-run victory against Ireland on Monday.
The 35-year-old scored 63 runs off 44 deliveries as he showed glimpses of regaining his touch with the bat in the aforementioned game.
However, David did not take the field whilst Australia’s bowling due to soreness in his hamstring. Marcus Stoinis, too, had to be taken off after rolling his arm for only one over. Stoinis’ series of side complaints is being attributed as a reason for the same, cricket365.com reports.
Finch – we must beat Afghanistan to stay alive in the tournament
Irrespective of these fitness issues, Australia recorded a much-needed convincing victory against the Irishmen at The Gabba. The injury-ridden duo of Finch and Stoinis top-scored with 63 and 35 respectively and Australia is now placed in second spot in the Group 1 standings.
They have five points to their name and their net run rate (NRR) is -0.304 currently. With England breathing down their neck, the eventual NRR is possibly going to be the distinguishing factor for the qualification prospects of teams in this group. Australia managed to do well on this front but pacer Mitchell Starc insisted that the side came away with their primary objective of winning this game in the first place.
“I guess you could look at that. I mean, first and foremost, we need to win these games, so we tick that box. For us it’s just trying to win these games because if you don’t win, it doesn’t matter, does it? We brought that run-rate back a bit, and we’ll see how we place in 24 hours,” he said, also speaking about England’s upcoming clash against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
As of now, Australia’s primary target will be to emerge victorious against Afghanistan on Friday. The impact of these injury concerns and the possible absenteeism of these players in that game will be closely scrutinized.
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