Shaun Marsh ruled out of CWC19, Handscomb called up

Marsh, 35, was struck by a ball in Australia's net session on Thursday, 4 July. He was rushed to the hospital thereafter, where a fracture was detected, thus ruling him out of the tournament.

“This is obviously shattering news for Shaun and the squad," said Justin Langer, the Australia head coach. "Throughout this tournament, his spirit, professionalism and the way he has competed has been typically outstanding.

“We have made the decision to call up Peter Handscomb to replace Shaun in our World Cup Squad of 15.”

Handscomb had narrowly missed out on Australia's original World Cup squad, despite his promising performances against India and Pakistan earlier this year. “Pete is a like for like player, in terms of batting in the middle order, and he performed very well for us during our recent tours in India and the UAE,” acknowledged Langer.

Marsh was not the only Australia to face friendly fire. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell also picked up an injury in the training session when he was struck while batting, but has been cleared of serious damage.

“The scans have cleared Glenn of any serious damage and we’ll continue to monitor him over the coming days," informed Langer. "We are hopeful he will be fit to perform for us on Saturday against South Africa.”

Meanwhile, Steve Smith, who hurt his finger while fielding has been declared available.

Australia have already qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament, and are set to clash against the Proteas in their final group game with a bid to finish at the top of the standings.