COLOMBO: Australia suffered another injury setback on Monday as fast bowler Kane Richardson returned home with a hamstring problem ahead of the first One-Day International against hosts Sri Lanka.

Test skipper Pat Cummins returned to the side for the five-match ODI series beginning today after recovering from a long-running injury.

Richardson picked up his injury during the warm-up for the final Twenty20 international match but played Saturday’s game before the severity was detected in a scan the next day.

“I wasn’t aware of the injury during the game so that was pretty big of him to get through a T20 game of that intensity,” skipper Aaron Finch said as he named his side for the first ODI.

Richardson had been included in the ODI squad following injuries to paceman Mitchell Starc who required six stitches on the index finger of his bowling arm while all-rounders Mitchell Marsh is nursing a calf strain and Sean Abbott suffered a fracture in his finger.

The ODIs follow a Twenty20 series that Australia won 2-1 after the hosts triumphed in the final game thanks to a sparkling 54 off 25 balls by skipper Dasun Shanaka.

Shanaka said Monday that his team were especially motivated to win as Sri Lanka suffers a dire economic crisis with major shortages of fuel, food and medicines.

“People are undergoing a lot of pressure. They don’t have the essentials but they are supporting us... The players are ready to deliver for the country,” he told reporters.

“When we play against a top team like Australia we must be ready for a defeat too, but as a team we are going in to win this series,” he said.

Australia XI: Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wkt), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Josh Hazlewood.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2022