Australian opener Matthew Short is poised to miss the semifinals of the Champions Trophy against either India or New Zealand with an injured quadricep he sustained during the washed-out match against Afghanistan. The in-form batter hit 20 runs off 15 balls but limped off the pitch after looking in visible pain following his dismissal at the hands of Azmatullah Omarzai, as Australia moved into the semifinals with four points. The 29-year-old, who is a regular member of the limited-overs side, had scored 63 runs off just 82 balls while chasing a mammoth 351 runs in the opening match against England.
Smith said before the semifinal he didn’t think the star opener would be fit to play.
“I think he’ll be struggling. I think we saw tonight he wasn’t moving very well. I think it’s probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover,” Smith said, quoting Prime Video by the AAP.
With Short joining the list of injured frontrunners, big-hitter Jake Fraser-McGurk could make a possible return into the playing XI, though he is yet to spring into form after two failures in the recent ODI series in Sri Lanka.
The all-rounder Aaron Hardie could also be an option, while the side has Cooper Connolly as a traveling reserve in case Short is completely ruled out of the tournament.
“We’ve got a few guys to come in to do that job,” said Smith.
Australia will either play India in the semifinal in Dubai on Tuesday or will face New Zealand on Wednesday in Lahore; they will know their opponents only after the group-stage clash between Rohit Sharma’s side and the Black Caps in Dubai on Sunday.
Australia is sitting at the top of Group B at the moment with four points, which could change if South Africa, on three points, manage to beat England in Saturday’s final group tie in Karachi.
It is even possible, however highly improbable, that Afghanistan qualify by finishing second in the group behind Australia, but for this to happen, Jos Buttler’s England would need to defeat South Africa-a highly unlikely scenario statistically.