Moises injury a new headache, says Nielsen

S S Ramaswamy

Hyderabad, Nov 4 (PTI) All-rounder Moises Henriques'
sudden indisposition has left the think-tank with an
unenviable task of finding the right and fit 11 players for
tomorrow's fifth one-dayer against India, Australia coach Tim
Nielsen said here Wednesday.
Henriques, who replaced for the injure James Hopes, will
miss the day/night clash at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium following
a right hamstring injury and Nielsen had no hesitation in
admitting that it had upset his plans.
"In the ideal team, we had (first) James Hopes and (then)
Moises batting at number seven along the line. We don't have
those players now. The bowling also needs to adjust to the
conditions and then we would decide the batting line-up. It is
not simple or easy," a worried Nielsen told reporters.
"We have to ensure that we have five bowlers plus a spare
bowler to ensure one guy doesn't have an off day. We have to
make a few decisions with Moises getting injured," he added.
Nielsen said the extent of Henriques' injury would be
known only after getting the scan reports from Australia.
"Moises had a strain on his right leg. It seems he
damaged his right hamstring. We cannot assess it at the
moment. We have to send the scans back to Australia. We are
waiting for a word from Cricket Australia. He won't play
tomorrow," Nielsen said.


Henriques became the fifth Australian -- after Brett Lee,
James Hopes, Tim Paine and Peter Siddle -- to have picked up
injury since the start of the series.
"The most difficult (thing), I suppose, is players
getting hurt (so frequently) which means there is a change in
the team in every game we have played. Having said that I'm
pleased with the way the players have fought hard. The young
players have come up to take up different roles," Nielsen
said.
Even the popular notion is too much of cricket was taking
toll on the players' physique, Nielsen did not blame the
packed calender for the growing list of injury.
"It is pretty same around the world cricket. We
understand that tournaments like IPL, Championship League
makes the schedule more hectic but we have managed quite well.
"One of the players, Tim Paine, had a knock on his
finger. That could have happened every day or once in a year,"
he said.
The result of all these injuries is that it has placed an
extra burden on Ricky Ponting and Nielsen was all praise for
the Australian captain for the way he had tackled challenges.
"That makes him such a fine player. Great players come
out best when the game is tough. Ricky has done pretty well in
this series, the Champions Trophy (which Australia won) and
also in the England one-dayers. He has been outstanding," the
coach said.


Nielsen was not too concerned about the dip in
performance of ICC Cricketer of the Year Mitchell Johnson who
has been very expensive in three out of four matches.
"He didn't have a great game the other night (at Mohali).
I would be hoping that he gets better. He is a sort of a
bowler who can make a comeback because he bowls quickly.
"He is left-armer, he can angle across the right-handers,
specially a player like (Virender) Sehwag. He has every
potential to get it right," Nielsen said.
Another left-hander, although from the rival camp,
received rich praise from Nielsen, who seemed impressed by
Yuvraj Singh.
"He is a fine player. He batted so well in Delhi. He
paced himself well. He has got strokes for all types of
wickets, slow or fast. He got runs on a difficult wicket. He
has the ability to hit the ball very sweetly," he said. PTI
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