Australia's new-found Twenty20 sensation David Warner has been called as a replacement for vice captain Michael Clarke, who has been ruled out of the one-day series against South Africa starting on Sunday, Cricket Australia (CA) announced in Melboune on Saturday.
Warner will make his one-day debut Sunday at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart after the National Selection Panel (NSP) advised Clarke to rest his injured thumb for two weeks in an attempt to play in the Commonwealth Bank Series against New Zealand.
"This is obviously very disappointing for Michael and his presence will be sorely missed. However it presents an exciting opportunity for David Warner to follow his spectacular Twenty20 debut in the 50-over format for Australia," NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said in a statement.
Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: “When Michael arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday, it was evident that after one weeks rest the pain in his thumb had decreased enough for him to bat at training the following day.
“However during last night’s match, he experienced pain while batting. It was the first time that he had batted without an injection since suffering the injury during the 3 Mobile Test match at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground."
{{/usCountry}}“However during last night’s match, he experienced pain while batting. It was the first time that he had batted without an injection since suffering the injury during the 3 Mobile Test match at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground."
{{/usCountry}}Kountouris added that Clarke could have played in the series with pain-relieving but that would have slowed his recovery.
“With an important Test series against South Africa starting in four weeks, this is the best course of action,” he said.