Big jolt for Australia, 31-year-old speedster ruled out of West Indies Test series, CA announces replacement

Australian speedster Brendan Doggett has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match Test series against the West Indies due to a minor hip issue. Doggett was part of Australia's travelling reserve in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa. Cricket Australia (CA) announced Sean Abbott as his replacement

He was added to the squad following his brilliant performance in South Australia’s 2024/25 Sheffield Shield triumph, their first in 29 years. He finished as the team’s second-highest wicket-taker with 33 scalps at an average of 24.15. His 11-140 in the final marked the best match figures in Shield final history.

However, he has been ruled out of the Test series, which is scheduled to start from June 25, due to a minor hip issue and will fly back to Australia. Before the WTC final, he featured in three County Championship matches for Durham, claiming nine wickets at 33.44.

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Apart from Brendan Doggett, veteran batter Steve Smith also got injured during day 3 of the WTC final when he tried to take Temba Bavuma's catch. He dislocated his finger following an unfortunate injury while going for a catch. 

Smith avoided surgery and will travel to the Caribbean, but will be required to keep his right little finger in a splint for up to eight weeks following the compound dislocation.

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Schedule:

First Test: June 25-29, Bridgetown, Barbados
Second Test: July 3-7, St George's, Grenada
Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica. 

Australia's Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster