Captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of Australia’s second Champions Trophy pool game against New Zealand in Birmingham tonight.
Clarke is still in London receiving ongoing treatment from a specialist for his chronic back problem which has flared up again since arriving in the UK.
The skipper is highly unlikely to play in the Champions Trophy as Australia fight to get Clarke right for the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge on July 10.
Word out of the Australian camp is that progress is slow for Clarke.
On the field, World Cup holders India marched into the Champions Trophy semi-finals with an emphatic win over the West Indies overnight, knocking arch-rivals Pakistan out of the race.
A career-best five-wicket haul by Ravindra Jadeja and a second successive century from Shikhar Dhawan lifted India to an eight-wicket victory at the packed Oval ground on a grim, overcast day in London.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men, backed by some 22,000 largely Indian supporters at the stadium, restricted the West Indies to 9-233 and then batted fluently to surpass the target in 39.1 overs.
Left-hander Dhawan followed his 114 in the tournament opener against South Africa with an unbeaten 102, reaching his second one-day hundred by smashing Dwayne Bravo for a six over third man.
Dhawan put on 101 for the first wicket with Rohit Sharma (52) and an unbroken 109 for the third with Dinesh Karthik, who made 51 not out.
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India’s second successive win in group B ensured them a place in the semi-finals even before their last league match against winless Pakistan in Birmingham on Saturday.
The West Indies and South Africa, who both beat Pakistan, clash in Cardiff on Friday to determine the second semi-finalist from the group.
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