A dominating performance against England in the first Ashes test could come at a cost for Australia, with Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath both nursing injuries.
Ponting, who scored 196 and 60 not out in Australia’s two innings, strained muscles in his back while batting during the fourth day and did not return to the field for England’s 80 overs.
McGrath, coming back from ten months out of the test arena, has a bruised left heel that required a pain-killing injection and restricted him to 12 overs in England’s second innings. He took 6-50 in the first innings to skittle England for 157 in reply to Australia’s mammoth 602-9 declared.
But his return on Sunday was a relatively meager 0-30 in three short spells. He spent about an hour off the field at various times getting treatment.
Advertisement
Alex Kountouris, the Australia physiotherapist, said he expected Ponting and McGrath to play on Monday as Australia chases the five wickets it needs to win the first Test. He also said both should be okay for the second test starting on Friday in Adelaide.
McGrath has had a “hot spot” on his heel for a long time, Kountouris said. “I think just the fact he’s come from one-day cricket into bowling a lot more overs that soreness became quite severe today. I expect him to be right ... it’s a bit of pain and we have to deal with it.”
Kountouris said Ponting’s back strain was not as bad as it first looked.
“It was quite painful at the time,” he said. “He’s improved quite a bit and I expect him to take the field tomorrow. It’s hard to look too far into the future but I would seriously doubt that there would be any concerns of him playing the next Test match.”
Opener Justin Langer, who was unbeaten 100 on Sunday and was there when Ponting hurt the left side of his back, was even more confident his captain would play next week.
Advertisement
“I would bet my house on it,” he said.