Bracken out of Champions Trophy

[aussie1st]

Australia have suffered a major blow before their first Champions Trophy match with Nathan Bracken ruled out of the tournament with a chronic knee injury. Cricket Australia confirmed Bracken would be sent home on Thursday due to the problem with his right knee.

"The nature of Nathan's right knee problem has meant that he has had some ongoing manageable pain, but this has now reached a point where he is unable to continue playing in the ICC Champions Trophy," Australia's physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. "He will return to Australia to consult a knee specialist for an opinion on the best course of action. His return to cricket will be determined after consulting the specialist."

http://www.cricinfo.com/iccct2009/content/current/story/426313.html

Will be interesting seeing who we replace Bracken with in both the starting 11 and the squad. Hopes might well be the favourite with his ability to bowl on slow decks like Bracken and his handy batting. Siddle is a risk, hasn't showed much of note especially in the wicket taking and his control can be up and down.

Replacement wise the article said Bollinger, Geeves and Clark are the contenders, hard to go past Bollinger who went so well in Pakistan.

 

[vickyrox]

Yeh!!!!:banana2:banana2


It almost neutralizes yuvraj"s absence from India"s team

Bracken bowls very good in the middle!!!!!

 

[OffCutters]

Bad result..very useful bowler, but i started to get sick off his cutters.

 

[Chetan0304]

The fun and action left in Champions Trophy is down

Hardly matters Oz to make it into the Finals.

Mark me again

 

[aussie1st]

It almost neutralizes yuvraj"s absence from India"s team

Will take the loss of Ponting to neutralise the loss of Yuvraj If this happened last year it would be a loss but the Bracken this year has been more containment which we can get from Hopes. Looking at how well SA's spinners are going a left field selection would be bringing Krejza or another spinner over.

 

[age of the fall]

Is it just me or has there been heaps of injuries during this champions trophy?

 

[iridescentt]

I say bring in Bollinger. He'd be a key asset in our bowling line-up. We've already seen what he's done with Pakistan during the ODi in the U.A.E. Why not play him.

If it wasn't him, I'd give the ball to Clark.

 

[Howsie]

He hasn't been going that well lately, it's probably not that big of a loss.

 

[Covvy]

Good news for Hilfy, bad for Australia.

 

[Akash00]

I think Bollinger is likely to replace him.

 

[sifter132]

I'm not sure about Bollinger. We've got Siddle and Hilfy already offering deck hitting and swing respectively. I don't think Bollinger offers anything above those two apart from being a leftie, and Mitch is already there as a leftie.

Maybe Ben Laughlin could be an option, he did tour SA earlier in the year. Or they might consider Stuart Clark. Even though I'm not really a fan of his, he could probably do a good job of bowling his 10 overs between 10-40. Then again, Hopes probably could too with much better batting and fielding.

Or they could always go for a second spinner Bracken was almost playing that role anyway and the SA pitches seem to have been conducive to spin thus far. So maybe a guy like Steven Smith would be a great punt. Aaron Heal and Xavier Doherty would be decent chances too if a spinner's needed.

 

[Left_Hander]

Bracken's containment will be a loss to Australia. I hope he won't be out for too long. Bollinger has been forgetten since ODI games against Pakistan, I'd like to see him get picked.

 

[angryangy]

Potentially bad time to pick a replacement, just before the start of the season. As has been pointed out, Siddle and Hilfenhaus provide the squad with conventional pace, so I don't think it's really much of an asset to have a third one. Bracken's quality was that he is a bit different to those guys, so I'd rather see them do something like get a spinner or roll the dice on Shaun Tait.

 

[piriyanth]

Bring in Shaun Tait.

 

[RoboRocks]

Would Dirk Nannes come into the equation? He's a left arm bowler, like Bracken, but would give the side some more pace if needed.

I don't see you guys picking a spinner somehow.