Mitchell Starc Ruled Out
Mitchell Starc ruled out: Speedster Mitchell Starc hand sustained a tendon injury in middle finger of his bowling hand, the 32-year-old said at a news conference on Thursday, forcing him to miss the third and final Test against South Africa.
The left-handed player met with an injury during the second Test, which Australia won on Thursday by an innings and 182 runs to wrap up the series 2-0 with one game remaining.
Australia all-rounder Cameron Green will also miss the final game of the series, which starts on January 4 in Sydney, as he recovers from a broken finger he suffered in Melbourne,
Mitchell Starc, an Australian quick, was observed bowling the second Test against South Africa on Wednesday at Melbourne Cricket Ground despite blood dripping from his finger.
Mitchell Starc hurts his finger during the second test
Starc hurt his finger while taking a catch at long-on during the first day’s morning session. Starc’s left hand’s middle finger was fractured.
At the MCG, Australia completely outplayed South Africa, defeating the visitors by an innings and 182 runs to win the Proteas’ first home series in 16 years.
On day four of the Boxing Day Test, the South Africans barely made an effort and bowled out for 204 in the second innings thanks to some excellent pace bowling and terrible running between the wickets.
Australia now has a 2-0 unbeatable lead in the three-match series, setting up a dead rubber match in Sydney the following week.
It’s no secret that South Africa’s batting was weak going into the series, but on Thursday, the Proteas’ top order was distressing.
South Africa failed badly in this tour
South Africa defeated Australia 2-1 in their last test series in Australia. However, this tour’s performance thus far tells a very different tale. The Proteas continue to lose games by significant margins and have lost the series despite one match still left in the series.
“Not a lot of positives. The negatives outweigh the positives currently,” South African captain Dean Elgar told reporters after the loss.
“Pretty weak performance, I’d say, in conditions I felt were in favour of really good Test cricket.
“Pretty disappointed in how things ended up … the way it unfolded is quite disappointing.”
With nine wickets needed for victory, Australia started the day needing nine wickets. Several outside edges tried to get through the slip cordon, but to no avail.
After 45 minutes of no success, Mitchell Starc, who was suffering from a finger injury, bowled Sarel Erwee with a hooping yorker that scraped his front toe before striking his bat.
Erwee was back in the sheds after Hawkeye showed the Kookaburra would have thumped into leg stump, a review giving Australia its first breakthrough of the day.
The hosts bowlers then took no time to dismiss the visitors and restricted them to 204 runs to claim a 182-run victory.
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