ICC World Cup 2019: Australia call for Mitchell Marsh as cover for injured Stoinis

London, June 11: Mitchell Marsh will fly to England earlier than scheduled as cover for Marcus Stoinis after the Australia all-rounder suffered a side strain.

Stoinis has been ruled out of the Cricket World Cup match against Pakistan on Wednesday after he was injured while bowling in the defeat to India on Sunday.

The defending champions have called for Marsh as a precaution amid uncertainty over the extent of Stoinis' injury.

Australia captain Aaron Finch said: "Marcus Stoinis has a bit of a side strain. He won't be available for, especially for [Wednesday]. So we're going to have to juggle around especially that all-rounder spot.

"We've got Mitch Marsh flying over just as a bit of a precaution. He was meant to fly over with the Australia A side on Friday. He's just coming a couple days early as a bit of precaution, if Stoinis doesn't recover quick enough or doesn't respond to treatment well enough over the next few days.

"So that's also something we've got to juggle with. We've got to find a few more overs now, whether we play the extra batter or extra bowler, we'll wait and see, and especially tomorrow with the conditions."

Asked how long Stoinis might be out of action, Finch replied: "Not exactly sure on how many games he'll miss. That's why Mitch is flying over. It's still being assessed.

"And over the next couple of days we'll have a clearer picture on what that looks like. I think it was about his fifth or sixth over [when he did the damage] the other day. It was towards the back end of his second spell, and he came back and bowled two overs at the death.

"He was in some discomfort. And it wasn't ideal, but he still managed to bowl a couple of overs. And speaking to guys who have done a side before, I say you can generally get through a game towards the end, but it's tough to get going after you've cooled down."