NSW opener Phil Jaques will fly to South Africa tomorrow to answer an SOS from the beleaguered Australian one-day cricket team.
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Having lost the Twenty20 match and Sunday’s opening one-day international, injuries to key players have reduced the touring party to a bare 11 fit players against the resurgent Proteas.
Captain Ricky Ponting (abdominal muscle strain), Andrew Symonds (hip flexor strain) and Stuart Clark (rib bruising) are no certainties to be fit in time for Friday’s second ODI in Cape Town.
Jaques, a controversial omission from the original touring party, could find himself walking out to bat at Newlands on Friday less than 48 hours after getting off the plane from Sydney.
Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said Jaques was the logical choice as cover.
“As we’re two batsmen down for the time being, due to the injuries to Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, the selectors feel it is essential to fly Phil Jaques in as cover,” Hohns said.
“There’s no doubt Phil’s form has been great this summer and we’ve every confidence in him if his services are called upon.”
The Australians are lucky they have a four-day rest between the first ODI and Friday’s match which they must win or face having to come from 2-0 down in a five-match series.
Jaques has been the form domestic player of the season, with three Pura Cup centuries and four one-day hundreds in the ING Cup.
He returned to Sydney yesterday with the victorious NSW one-day side after playing a minor part (21 off 32 balls) in their one-wicket win over South Australia in the ING Cup final.
The 26-year-old left-hander finished the domestic one-day season with 683 runs at 85.37, a strike rate of better than 97, and four hundreds including a top score of 158 not out.
His Pura Cup form has also been sparkling, with 661 runs at an average of 51.
If he gets a chance in South Africa and does well he could persuade the selectors to leave him there as part of the Test tour which follows.
His versatility in being able to open or bat in the middle order will do his chances no harm.
In his debut Test match he scored two and 28 against South Africa at the MCG in December and was dropped when Justin Langer returned from injury.
In the absence of Stuart Clark and leading paceman Glenn McGrath the Australian attack struggled badly against the South Africans in the opening one-day match.
The Australian bowlers were unable to stem the flow of runs from South African captain Graeme Smith’s bat as the skipper blasted 119 not out, a record for South Africa against Australia.
Australia’s batting was scratchy at best, saved only by a century stand for the fourth wicket by Mike Hussey (56) and Michael Clarke (53) plus some lusty hitting by Brett Lee (38 not out).
