More Pain For Australia With No Paine

To add injury to insult (that’s right), Australia will have to contend with another serious injury.
If one were to list the names of players rendered redundant through injury for Australia during the India Australia ODI series, it would perhaps form another team of its own.
Now to add to Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Nathan Bracken and Callum Ferguson, wicket keeper Tim Paine will also fly home following a finger fracture in the second ODI at Nagpur.
Paine, who took on the role of wicket keeper cum opening batsman in the absence of Haddin who also broke his finger prior to the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa, battled through pain to do a good job in the field in the second ODI but the extent of injury has ruled him out of the series.
Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, will now rely upon Graham Manou, who was also recalled during the Ashes in England a couple of months back. For the thirty year old, it a rare opportunity on a tough terrain but one that he would, no doubt, be enthused about.
But Manou will have little time acclimizating because he will head straight in the third ODI in New Delhi on Saturday upon landing in India.
Ponting will also be worried about whether Mitchell Johnson is still feeling the niggles while Brett Lee continues to remain on the radar while James Hopes may be ruled out altogether given that Moises Henriques is on standby. Perhaps the Indian spectators will also get to see Shaun Marsh in the opener’s slot now that Paine has gone back home. While Henriques has played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, Marsh was the star attraction of the inaugural IPL opening for the Kings XI Punjab Mohali team.