SYDNEY, Feb 27: Opening batsman Phil Jaques was on Monday added to the injury-hit Australian one-day squad for its limited-overs series in South Africa, the Cricket Australia said.

The New South Wales batsman was considered unlucky to miss out in the original selection after a prolific-scoring Australian summer.

Jaques has been the form domestic player of the season, with three Sheffield Shield centuries and four one-day hundreds in the domestic one-day competition.

The 26-year-old left-hander finished the domestic one-day season with 683 runs at 85.37 and four hundreds including a top score of 158 not out.

In the Sheffield Shield he accumulated 661 runs at an average of 51.

Jaques will fly to South Africa on Wednesday to bolster the Australian touring party following injuries to skipper Ricky Ponting (abdominal muscle strain), all-rounder Andrew Symonds (hip flexor strain) and Stuart Clark (rib bruising), which forced them out of Sunday’s opening ODI loss to the Proteas.

All are battling to be fit in time for Friday’s second ODI in Cape Town.

“As we’re two batsmen down for the time being, due to the injuries to Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, the selectors feel it is essential to fly Phil Jaques in as cover,” chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said in a statement.—Agencies