Marsh will undergo surgery to repair his broken finger

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Australia opener Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa in Hobart due to a broken finger.

Marsh, who fractured the same finger during Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year, will undergo surgery, but it is unclear how long he will be out of action for.

“At the moment he’s pretty shattered. Hopefully the surgery goes well and he can be back soon,” Australia captain Steven Smith said on Monday. “He slipped over in the first innings and injured it. He was in a fair bit of pain when he batted and out in the field as well.”

The injury is a huge setback for the 33-year-old as he was recalled to the Australian squad for the Test series against the Proteas. The Narrogin native had an impact in the first Test in Perth, which Australia lost by 177 runs, as he scored 63 and 15. Marsh was also made to prove his fitness prior to the Test series as he was nursing a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, the Baggy Greens have bolstered their batting department going into the second Test as they have brought in opener Joe Burns and uncapped batsman Callum Ferguson.

Burns was dropped for the third Test against Sri Lanka in August and failed to make the cut for the series against the Proteas. However, having made a brilliant 129 in Queensland’s Sheffield Shield opener against New South Wales, the 27-year-old regained his place in the side.

As for Ferguson, he scored 101 for South Australia in their first match of the Sheffield Shield season against Western Australia. The 31-year-old has represented Australia in 30 ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals, but has not played international cricket since April 2011.

Australia are currently 1-0 down in the series and will be looking to bring themselves level in the second Test, which begins on November 12.