New Delhi, Jan 10 Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley has been ruled out of the England Lions tour of Australia after sustaining a fractured right hand during practice in Brisbane, said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
It further said Hartley will return to the UK after sustaining the fracture on Thursday, and on arriving at home, he will undergo further assessment by his domestic side Lancashire medical teams, adding that no replacement player will be added to the squad in Australia.
Hartley shot into prominence on England's Test tour of India 2024, where his figures of 7-62 in the second innings helped England seal a famous win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Though India bounced back to win the series 4-1, Hartley emerged as England's leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets in five games at an average of 36.13. But since then, Hartley didn’t make any Test match appearance for England, who have preferred to keep off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in their scheme of things.
He was subsequently picked in England’s squad for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, where Hartley didn’t get a game as the side crashed to a semi-final loss to eventual winners India at Providence Stadium in Guyana.
The fractured right hand ending his tour of Australia early is a big blow to Hartley’s hopes of earning a recall to the Test team, especially with the Ben Stokes-led team set to tour Australia in October for the all-important 2025/26 Ashes and Bashir being there in the England Lions team.
The England Lions tour of Australia, with former skipper Andrew Flintoff being their head coach, begins on January 14 with a four-day fixture against a Cricket Australia Select XI in Brisbane. The visitors’ will also feature in three red-ball matches, including an unofficial Test against Australia A in Sydney from January 30 to February 2.
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