MELBOURNE, Jan 25: Australia’s World Cup hopes suffered a blow on Saturday when Michael Bevan was carried off the Melbourne Cricket Ground after sustaining a groin muscle strain.

Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns told reporters the selectors would hold a telephone conference on Sunday to discuss a possible replacement if Bevan was ruled out of next month’s tournament.

ACB medical officer Trefor James said a decision would be made in the next 48 hours on Bevan’s fitness.

“It’s a bit early to tell. We’ll need to see how he pulls up tomorrow,” he told reporters. “He was in quite a lot of pain.

“It was difficult to tell if the pain was due to muscle cramping or the severity of the injury, so that’s why we need to wait, let things settle down and evaluate it over the next 48 hours.”

Bevan, 32, set off for quick single in the second final of the triangular one-day series against England and started limping as he struggled through to the bowler’s end before collapsing on the turf in agony.—Reuters