Blow for Australia: Nathan Ellis ruled out of UK tour with severe injury

The Australia National Cricket Team have suffered a colossal blow as the 29-year-old right-arm quick Nathan Ellis has been ruled out of the entire United Kingdom tour after suffering an injury.

Nathan Ellis' most recent appearance in competitive cricket came in the Hundred where he represents the London Spirit. During the competition, he suffered a hamstring injury and was targetting a comeback in the T20I series against Scotland.

However, Cricket Australia has now confirmed that the right-arm pacer would take more time to recover, hence, he has been removed from the squads for the entire United Kingdom tour. Notably, he will miss the remainder of the Scotland T20Is as well as the eight subsequent white-ball games against England.

Nathan Ellis' injury has denied him the opportunity to lead the pace attack of the Aussies in the absence of the big 3. In the absence of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, as well as Ellis, Sean Abbott has been as serving as the pace-bowling leader.

Riley Meredith To Stay With Australia Squad As Cover After Nathan Ellis Gets Ruled Out

As Ellis got ruled out of the entire UK tour, CA confirmed that Riley Meredith will continue to stay with the squad as cover. This will lead to the pacer missing out on the final of the T20 Blast. However, no official replacement has been named for Nathan Ellis for ODIs against England.

Meanwhile, Riley Meredith was dropped from the playing XI for the second T20I after playing his first international match since 2021 against Scotland on Wednesday. At the toss, Mitchell Marsh said:

"We would have bowled. You come across different conditions. It's very Scottish today. Hopefully, we can get off to a good start. Aaron Hardie comes in for Riley Meredith."

Also, Australia will have a major boost in the form of Josh Hazlewood, who has landed in England ahead of Wednesday's first T20I at the Utilita Bowl after recovering from a calf strain. "[He] will join the squad in Southampton having recovered from a minor calf strain," a CA spokesperson said.

Talking further about Ellis, he has featured in 17 T20I matches for the Australia National Cricket Team since making his debut in August 2021. He has picked up 28 wickets at an average of 17.21, an economy of 7.77, and a strike rate of 13.2.

Also, in 8 ODIs since his debut in March 2022, he has bagged 10 wickets at an average of 38.20, an economy of 5.96, and a strike rate of 38.4. Despite having good numbers in both white-ball formats, Nathan Ellis has not got consistent opportunities with the Australian team, mainly, due to the presence of Big 3 - Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc.

Ellis generally gets a chance to feature in the playing XI when one among the Big 3 misses out on selection either due to injury or when the team management decides to provide rest to star pacers. The Scotland T20Is would've given Ellis a great chance to show his true prowess but the hamstring injury struck him at the wrong time.