South Australia’s Brendan Doggett is the latest bowler to go down with a significant injury as we catalogue all the late-season afflictions for Australian cricket’s fast bowling stocks
Pat Cummins: back
Australia’s Test captain was sidelined with a lumbar bone stress issue after last year’s Caribbean tour. A carefully managed rehab allowed him to play one Test match during the Ashes and, with the series won, was put back on ice. He was close, but not close enough to get up for the T20 World Cup and will instead return to action at this year’s Indian Premier League.
Josh Hazlewood: Achilles
Initially hurt his hamstring playing in the Sheffield Shield ahead of the Ashes series. Then suffered an injury to his Achilles during his rehab that set him back. He was named in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad but withdrawn last week after failing to sufficiently recover.
Brendon Doggett: hamstring
The latest addition to Australia’s fast bowling injury list, the South Australia spearhead who earned a Test debut this summer, tore his hamstring while chasing a ball in the outfield in the Sheffield Shield on Saturday. His summer was ended by a grade two hamstring tear that includes tendon damage with his rehab targeting a return for Augusts Tests against Bangladesh.
Mahli Beardman: back
The 20-year-old Western Australia quick made a promising international debut on Australia’s pre-T20 World Cup series in Pakistan, however reported lower back soreness during warmup for the second match. Scans back in Perth confirmed a lumbar bone stress injury that will see him sidelined until next summer, a bitter blow given WA skipper Sam Whiteman confirmed he was “on track” to make his first-class debut in the next month.
Lance Morris: back
Opted for back surgery last August after pulling up with lower back soreness following a bowling session in Darwin before an ODI series against South Africa. Scans found a lumbar bone stress injury and he opted for the same pars stabilisation surgery that Cameron Green had.
Spencer Johnson: back
The left-armer first noticed back soreness last April while at the IPL, where scans revealed a bulging disc and a stress fracture. He initially kept training, but his condition worsened while preparing for a mid-year T20I series in the Cairbbean, and a subsequent MRI revealed “a decent size stress fracture”. The Brisbane Heat spearhead, who said making the T20 World Cup squad was his dream goal, had been hoping to return during the Big Bash season, but another scan showed his injury had not healed enough and he was ruled out for the season a few days before the tournament began.
Callum Vidler: back
Reporting back soreness during pre-season training, the now-20-year-old has been sidelined since September when scans revealed a partial fracture in the L3 vertebrae. It is not expected that Queensland will rush back their future star this season.
Gurinder Sandhu: knee
Sandhu was initially sidelined late in the Big Bash season, ruled out of the Melbourne Renegades’ final game with what was reported as “knee soreness”. That injury was worse than first thought and is now expected to keep the 32-year-old out of action for the remainder of the season.
Tom Whitney: foot
Queensland Bulls coach Johan Botha revealed that 23-year-old quick Tom Whitney is out for the season with a stress fracture in his foot. The Bulls had named Whitney in their squad for both the One-Day Cup and Shield matches in Melbourne last week. Whitney had played three Shield matches before the Big Bash having returned from ankle surgery last winter.
Mark Steketee: hamstring
The 32-year-old Queenslander first injured his hamstring in preseason training. He played a One-Day Cup match in October, run out in the first innings and did not bowl, and has not been seen since.
Joel Paris: adductor
The Western Australian injured his groin bowling with the Perth Scorchers in early January in a match memorable for Ollie Peake’s match-winning, last-ball six. Paris, who has missed playing in Perth’s previous title wins, was close to getting up for the BBL Final but fell short. He’s expected to be fit for selection within the next fortnight.
Matt Kelly: calf
The 31-year-old has had issues with soft-tissue injuries in recent years and is currently sidelined with a calf injury picked up during the Big Bash season. He may yet return to play a part late in WA’s season, possibly in the final round of Shield cricket.
Iain Carlisle: hamstring
Tasmania’s 26-year-old right-arm quick is on the comeback trail from a hamstring injury in an otherwise healthy Tasmania squad. Carlisle, who was put on ice after routine end-of-season scans following the 2023-24 Sheffield Shield final revealed a stress fracture, had made his return and played three early-season One-Day Cup matches for Tasmania before injuring his hamstring during a Premier Cricket match.
Henry Thornton
The South Australia’s 29-year-old right-arm quick is currently sidelined with an unspecified injury. He last played a second XI game in late January.
