Sydney: Australia fast bowler Brett Lee has been cleared of any major breaks after suffering an ankle injury in practice on Thursday for the opening Chappell-Hadlee Trophy one-day match against New Zealand.
The 30-year-old Lee underwent X-rays after rolling his ankle during fielding practice in Wellington and he will have an MRI scan to test for ligament damage. Lee looks likely to miss at least the first match of the three-game Chappell-Hadlee series against the New Zealanders beginning Friday and he could be doubtful for the start of Australia’s World Cup defence in the West Indies next month.
Cricket Australia (CA) said it would wait for the results of the MRI scan on Friday before deciding whether to call up another player to replace Lee.
“He felt something in both his knee and his ankle. I am not sure of the extent of the injury,” stand-in captain Mike Hussey said in a CA statement.
“It will be a loss if we lose him. He is Australia’s third-highest wicket-taker in one-day Internationals. He is good with the new ball and he gets wickets,” Hussey added.
Stand-in vice-captain Michael Clarke is struggling with hip soreness and Phil Jaques is on standby. Mitchell Johnson is likely to step into the team should Lee be ruled out.
Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist have been rested from the series in preparation for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Hussey is determined the world champions will not lose their position at the top of the one-day rankings under his leadership.
Australia’s shock tri-series finals loss to England and South Africa’s win over Pakistan have put Hussey’s side under pressure.
“We’re all aware of it and we want to stay No. 1, there’s no question about that,” Hussey told reporters on Thursday. “Our main goal is playing well and winning the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and if we do that we remain No. 1.”
“Certainly the players are aware of it and we’re very determined to remain No. 1, it’s something we’re very proud of.”
Hussey said Australia’s standards had slipped in the two tri-series finals losses to England with the start of their World Cup defence now just a month away.
“We probably weren’t as disciplined as we normally are, I think (coach) John Buchanan keeps a bunch of statistics and we did fall off a little bit on the bowling and batting side of things,” Hussey said.
“There are things we didn’t do as well and to a degree that was because of the way England played and the pressure they put us under and we weren’t able to cope. I suppose it does galvanise us to a degree.”
Hussey said that despite the problems he felt confident going into the matches against New Zealand starting with a day-nighter in Wellington.
“We’ve still got some excellent, experienced cricketers,” he said. “We’ve got a wealth of depth.”
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, meanwhile, defended criticism of his leadership during the tri-series.
“Leadership and decision-making is a massive part of my game,” he said. “I love the job, I love being with the team. What I find tiring is spending weeks when you know you’re copping it.
“That can be a little bit draining but it’s part and parcel of being New Zealand captain when you’re not performing well. When you lose you’re torn apart.”
Fleming’s body language was described as flat during the tournament in Australia and he struggled to impose himself consistently with the bat.
“In some games I’d have loved to have had another go at it, you can do 20 different things during a game,” he said.
New Zealand have won only two of 22 one-day matches against Australia since 2002 and Fleming is not expecting an easy ride against Hussey’s depleted team.
“It’s an oxymoron to say there’s a weak Australian side. There’s no such thing,” Fleming said.
