Sydney Thunder star all-rounder Andre Russell was stretchered off from Spotless Stadium after injuring his hamstring against the Melbourne Stars on Wednesday night.
Russell pulled up lame after chasing a ball to the third man boundary, immediately falling to the ground and clutching his leg.
The 29-year-old overseas signing has played with a knee injury throughout the tournament and was set to undergo scans after the clash with the Stars, according to Fairfax media.
A Thunder spokesperson confirmed it was indeed an injury to the left hamstring, while a Network TEN update said he was extremely unlikely to take any further part in the contest, with scans tomorrow to reveal the full extent of the issue.
Russell was visibly limping during the Thunder’s loss to the Perth Scorchers on Sunday and the early stages of tonight’s match in Sydney.
The all-rounder’s inclusion in the match was only confirmed following an “admin error” from the Thunder.
England batsman James Vince has joined the squad as he prepares to replace departing international Eoin Morgan, who leaves the defending champions to captain England’s limited-overs teams in India.
However, with Russell battling injury, Vince was a chance to play instead of the Jamaican but an error by the Thunder meant the West Indian took his place.
When asked by the Network TEN commentators whether the two changes to the Thunder line-up were due to form or conditions, veteran Ben Rohrer replied: “They were a little bit conditions-based and there was a little admin error as well that doesn’t help with Andre being 50-50 for the game with his injury from last game.”
“We sort of stuffed up our line-up which isn’t ideal.”
Rohrer explained the situation further: “You need to have the squad sorted by the day before and James Vince wasn’t in there.
“There was a chance he was going to play tonight so we had to switch things around at the last minute.” (www.bigbash.com)
