Matt Short
Injured Australian opener Matt Short likely to miss semi-final clash
Australia is likely to miss the service of injured opener Matt Short during the upcoming semi-final clash of the ongoing Champions Trophy against New Zealand or India next week.
The in-form batsman suffered a quad injury while he was playing during Australia's group stage match against Afghanistan in a rain-hit clash in Lahore.
He managed to score 20 runs off 15 balls but was unable to run between the wickets comfortably.
Skipper Steve Smith even admitted after the match that the opener is unlikely to play in the semi-finals next week.
"I think we saw tonight he wasn't moving very well. I think it's probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover," Smith told Prime Video as quoted by Cricket Australia.
Australia is currently leading the Group B points table.
South Africa is likely to be the second team to reach the semi-finals.
However, Afghanistan still have an outside chance to qualify and reach the final-four stage of the tournament.
New Zealand-India Clash
The clash between India and New Zealand will decide the team that will face Australia.
The match will be played in Dubai.
Both India and New Zealand have reached the semi-finals.
However, the victor of the match will decide the Group A leader.
Short's injury now leaves Australia with the task of finding a new opener.
Smith was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia: "We've got a few guys there to come in to fill a job."
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