BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Fast bowler Jhye Richardson has been ruled out of the Cricket World Cup after failing to recover from a shoulder injury in time to be ready for Australia’s opening game on June 1.
Cricket Australia on Wednesday confirmed scans showed the shoulder that Richardson dislocated during a limited-overs international against Pakistan in March wouldn’t be repaired adequately to bowl at the level required for the World Cup.
“This is obviously very disappointing news for the team and for Jhye, who has been exceptional throughout his rehabilitation process,” Australia’s team physiotherapist David Beakley said in a statement. “After his most recent assessment and attempting to bowl in the nets, it was clear that Jhye was not progressing as fast as required and therefore, in consultation with selectors, we made the decision to withdraw him from the squad.”
Kane Richardson has been drafted into the Australia squad to join a pace bowling group that includes Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jason Behrendorff.
Defending champion Australia is playing three unofficial warmup games against New Zealand in Brisbane this week to fine-tune for the World Cup and to reintegrate ex-captain Steve Smith and his former deputy David Warner into the squad following their 12-month bans that stemmed from the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
