In the third ODI between Australia and England, a rare instance of concussion substitute unraveled after a young English batter suffered an injury to his head while fielding. Phil Salt sustained a head injury on the field during Australia's innings and after examination by the medical team, the 26-year-old was deemed unfit to return to the field. The Three Lions announced that star all-rounder Moeen Ali checked into the game as a concussion substitute for Salt. The English batter sustained a horrible fall while attempting to save a boundary and in the process, injured his head and left shoulder.
According to the law pertaining to concussion substitutes in cricket, if a player sustains a head injury during the match, then a like-to-like substitute comes in his place. In simpler terms, a bowler is replaced by a bowler and likewise. The substituted player can bowl or bat also. In this case, Ali could only bat for England as he replaced Salt, who plays as a specialist batter in the English team.
Meanwhile, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss earlier and opted to field first. The Three Lions lost the opening two matches of the three-match series, handing Australia an unassailable lead heading into the third game. Buttler, who didn't play the second game, returned to the playing XI for the last fixture of the series. For Australia, captain Pat Cummins also returned to the side after being rested for the 2nd ODI. Josh Hazlewood captained Australia in Cummins' absence in the last ODI.
Australia playing XI for 3rd ODI: David Warner, Travis Head, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
England playing XI for 3rd ODI: Jason Roy, Philip Salt, Dawid Malan, James Vince, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, David Willey, Olly Stone
