Australia opener Beth Mooney has suffered a fractured jaw, effectively ruling her out for the most part of the multi-format Ashes series.
Scheduled to begin on January 20, Thursday, Mooney has little or no chance to make a comeback in the later stages of the tournament, but the Australian camp is hopeful that she can, given the advancements in medical sciences. Mooney is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday, 18 January.
An integral part of the Australian line-up, Mooney will leave a huge hole in the batting order and will be leaving the think tank scratching their heads as to who will replace her.
Mooney’s injury occurred in the nets during throwdowns after a ‘rouge’ ball shot up. According to head coach Matthew mott, who was on the other end of the drill, Mooney tried to avoid the ball the best she could, but ended up damaging her jaw.
The multiformat series starts from 20th with three T20Is, before moving to a solitary Test match and then three ODIs.