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The implications of Kuhnemann’s untimely thumb injury for Sri Lanka tour
Lachlan Geleit • January 17th, 2025 3:01 pm
Aussie spinner Matt Kuhnemann’s thumb injury couldn’t have come at a worse time with the left-hander now expected to miss the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Kuhnemann suffered the blow in Thursday night’s BBL game between the Heat and Hurricanes with the Brisbane bowler dislocating his thumb which requires surgery.
SEN Cricket’s Tom Morris is certain that the operation will rule him out of the tour, which is bitterly disappointing as he expected the Tasmania tweaker to find a spot in the XI for the first Test in Galle.
With Kuhnemann set to miss out, Morris pondered who Aussie selectors would look to as a replacement for the 28-year-old who was the only specialist left-arm spinner in the squad.
“Surgery would rule him out,” Morris told SEN The Captain’s Run.
“They depart in a couple of days for a pre-tour camp, and then they play two Tests against Sri Lanka.
“I know it's his non-bowling hand, but he needs to be able to field and he needs to be able to hold a bat.
“It just raises the question, well, who do they go for? If they want a like-for-like you’ve got someone like Ashton Agar who hasn’t played much red-ball cricket at all and didn’t have a great time when he last played.
“Corey Rocchiccioli is the player on standby, but you probably don't play three right-arm off-spinners in the one team, so he's probably only on standby if (Todd) Murphy or (Nathan) Lyon go down.
“Or you just go for a leg spinner spinning it away from the right-hander like a Mitch Swepson or an Adam Zampa.”
While all-round option Cooper Connolly also bowls left-arm orthodox, Morris thinks that selectors will want another front-line spinner who spins it away from right-handed batsmen and he thinks that fellow finger spinner Ashton Agar could be the man for the job.
“It's just thrown a curveball to the selectors, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the meeting today with George Bailey and Andrew McDonald to see where they go,” Morris said.
“My guess, and it's only a guess at this point, is they'll go for Agar to have a like-for-like left-arm spinner or at least the option of it.
“It doesn’t mean he plays because they'll have Cooper Connolly there as well, but at least they'll have more options if Agar goes.”
The first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Galle begins on January 29. Listen to every ball LIVE on SEN and the SEN app.
