Ashes 2021-22 | Will Pucovski ruled out of Sheffield Shield game, unlikely for first Ashes Test
Australia have suffered a setback ahead of the Ashes series, as Will Pucovski is likely miss the first Test in Brisbane, as he has not recovered from the concussion he suffered last month. Pucovski has been ruled out of Victoria's Sheffield Shield fixture against New South Wales, beginning Friday.
The Ashes series between Australia and England is scheduled to commence from December 8 in Brisbane. Australia have suffered a major blow, as Will Pucovski is set to miss the Gabba Test, as he is yet to recover from the concussion he sustained last month.
The right-handed opener was hit in the nets, and suffered a 10th concussion in his nascent career. He was hopeful of playing against New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield fixture beginning Friday, November 5, but having still not recovered fully, he has been ruled out.
Victoria coach Chris Rogers stated that Pucovski's absence would be a setback for the team, but was hopeful of him speedy recovery and a long career ahead.
"It's no doubt a setback. I'd say now it's unlikely he will play in the first Test. All the people in these conversations understand we have an immense talent on our hands. We want him playing in three, five, 10 years so these are the decisions we are going make in his best interests and hopefully we can set him up to have a long career,” he stated.
Pucovski made his Test debut versus India in the third Test of the 2020/21 home series at the SCG. He scored 62 in the first innings, before a shoulder injury sidelined him mid-game, and thereafter. Overall, has scored 1816 runs in 24 first class matches with an impressive average of 53.41, while scoring six fifties and as many hundreds.
Now, with little practice under his belt and the concussion blow, Rogers said that it'd be difficult for the youngster to perform against a quality opponent like England.
"No doubt there's a lot of frustration for him, he wants to be playing," said Rogers. "It's an interesting one as well, he hasn't played for seven months so to walk straight back into the caldron and perform against very good opposition that's going to be really difficult. The decision is to look after him and allow him a bit more time to prepare in the right way rather than rush him into matches that will have a lot of intensity and scrutiny.
"In this situation there's a strong desire to get him into that Australian side because he's such a talent player but...there's got to be some thought about what's in his best interest and how that plans out. He's still so young, there's so much time left in the game for him so no need to rush him back into a Test series when he hasn't even played professional cricket and isn't 100%.”
Pucovski’s absence puts Marcus Harris in strong contention to open alongside David Warner in the Brisbane Test. Usman Khawaja and Travis Head too, will be part of the mix.
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