Mahli Beardman will have an extended stint on the sidelines after a back injury
Australia’s pace stocks have suffered another hit with young speedster Mahli Beardman to miss the rest of the domestic season with a stress fracture.
The 20-year-old sensation made his international debut in last week’s T20 series opener against Pakistan and was due to play in the second match until experiencing lower back soreness in the warm-up.
He had scans after returning to Perth this week, which confirmed a lumbar bone stress injury, Cricket Australia said in a statement.
The right-armer, who enjoyed a breakout 13-wicket Big Bash campaign for champions Perth Scorchers, had also been hoping to make his Sheffield Shield debut for Western Australia in the second half of the summer, but that will now have to wait until next season.
“He will now enter an extended period of rehabilitation and will be unavailable for the remainder of the domestic season,” the CA statement said.
Beardman has been carefully managed during the early stages of his career given his history of back injuries as a teenager and their prevalence in young fast bowlers.
He’s consistently been touted as a future leader of the nation’s pace attack after spearheading Australia’s Under-19 World Cup triumph in 2024 and had been in various white-ball squads before his T20 debut last Thursday.
But, the fact he is yet to make his first-class debut demonstrates just how carefully Australia and WA are navigating the future star’s rise.
“There was a lot of nerves in the first over, it was the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life,” Beardman told cricket.com.au after his T20 debut in Lahore.
“It didn’t quite go to plan; obviously, went the journey in the first over and then I sort of found my feet a little bit and just got used to the conditions and the atmosphere a little bit.
“I’m super lucky to be able to have that experience … it’s an absolute honour to be able to represent my country.
“It’s been a hell of a hell of a last week (with the Scorchers also winning BBL|15) and it probably hasn’t all properly set in yet.”
Beardman joins a long list of Australian bowlers currently sidelined through injury, including Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins who is working his way back from his own back stress injury.
Josh Hazlewood was also ruled out of the T20 World Cup on Friday due to an Achilles issue that also derailed his Ashes summer, while off-spinner Nathan Lyon also missed the final two Tests against England after undergoing hamstring surgery.
WA teammate Lance Morris and fellow U19 World Cup-winning quick Callum Vidler also haven’t played this season due to back injuries. Left-armer Spencer Johnson is also out of action as he recovers from a back stress fracture.
But in positive signs for Australia’s T20 World Cup hopes, fast bowler Nathan Ellis sent down five overs off his long run-up during a training session in Colombo on Saturday as he prepares to return from a hamstring injury in the opening stages of the tournament.
2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Australia squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserve: Sean Abbott
Australia’s Group Stage fixtures
February 11: v Ireland, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (8:30pm AEDT)
February 13: v Zimbabwe, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (4:30pm AEDT)
February 16: v Sri Lanka, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 17, 12:30am AEDT)
February 20: v Oman, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 21, 12:30am AEDT)
Australia’s Super Eight fixtures
(Assuming all seeded teams qualify)
February 23: Australia (X2) v West Indies (X3), Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Feb 24, 12:30am AEDT)
February 26: India (X1) v Australia (X2), MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (Feb 27, 12:30am AEDT)
March 1: Australia (X2) v South Africa (X4), Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 8:30pm AEDT
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
