Australia’s emerging fast bowler Spencer Johnson has been ruled out of the team’s upcoming white-ball tour due to a side strain. Johnson got injured while playing for Oval Invincibles in the ongoing edition of the Men’s Hundred. Cricket Australia (CA) has announced Sean Abbott as Johnson’s replacement for the white-ball tour.
“(Johnson) will return home for further assessment and rehabilitation ahead of the Australian summer,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.
Johnson started the fourth season of the Men’s Hundred with a lot of expectations. He took one wicket for 21 runs against Welsh Fire in the first match of the season, but his spell against Northern Superchargers was worth watching for the fans.
The left-arm pacer bowled 13 dot balls out of 20 against Northern Superchargers and conceded just 10 runs. He also got the wicket of Graham Clark in his spell.
For the Adelaide-born player, the upcoming tour of the United Kingdom was going to be a great opportunity to showcase his fast bowling prowess and prove himself as a potential replacement for the ageing Mitchell Starc. Notably, Starc has been rested for the T20I series against Scotland and England and will only be seen wearing the Australia jersey during the ODI series against the Three Lions.
The 28-year-old Johnson has played five T20Is and one ODI for Australia so far in his brief international career. Johnson’s ODI debut came against India at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on September 24, 2023, while he made his T20I debut against the Proteas in Durban on August 30, 2023.
Australia’s T20I squad against Scotland and England
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), marcus stoinis, Adam Zampa