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Ponting likely to miss the 1st Test |
 Australian
cricket captain Ricky Ponting is expected to
miss the first Test against India next month
because of a fractured thumb and could be in
doubt for the series.
Ponting fractured his left thumb while
fielding in slips in Australia's Champions
Trophy loss to England in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Scans yesterday revealed the break after Ponting
endured a painful, sleepless night and he was
flying back to Australia from England for
treatment. The rest of the squad travels to
India for the four-Test series on Friday.
Ponting's chances of playing in the series
will be determined by consultations in
Australia. No decision on a replacement player
or captain has been made, but vice captain Adam
Gilchrist is expected to take charge of the
first Test in Bangalore starting on October 6.
Ponting's loss will be a severe blow to
Australia which is chasing its first series win
in India since Bill Lawry's 1969-70 side.
"I'm obviously very disappointed but have
great faith in all of my team-mates to do the
job in my absence," Ponting said. "I'll do
everything I can to get back as quickly as
possible, but to achieve that will have to be
guided by the experts. "I desperately want to be
on that plane to India, and if everything goes
according to plan, I'll still be able to play
some part in the series, sooner I hope, rather
than later.
"In the meantime, the boys know exactly what
needs to be done because we have put a great
deal of work into preparing for this tour. "This
series means so much to us all. It could be one
of the biggest Test series ever played, so to be
missing the start of it is really
disappointing."
Tuesday's lacklustre six-wicket loss in the
Champions Trophy semi-final at Edgbaston was a
bad enough way to leave for a tough tour of
India, but Ponting's injury will add to
Australia's concerns. The Tasmanian played the
injury down on Tuesday but realised yesterday
morning that something serious was wrong.
"Ricky was in considerable pain overnight and
got very little sleep, so we had the injury seen
to as quickly as possible today," said
Australia's physiotherapist Errol Alcott. "The
scans have detected a fracture in his left
thumb, and we feel that it is in his best
interests to get home now and receive the best
possible medical advice.
"We can't make any bold predictions about a
return date for Ricky until he has seen a hand
specialist back in Australia."
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