July 30, 2009

Australia were dealt a major blow just moments before the scheduled start of play with Brad Haddin forced out of the side with a suspected broken finger and Graham Manou called in for his Test debut. Haddin sustained the injury while warming-up around the time of the coin toss, and his withdrawal will leave the Australians without the services of their first-choice wicketkeeper and leading run-scorer in this Ashes series.

The injury invited comparisons to Glenn McGrath's infamous ankle sprain at this very ground four years ago, which many felt changed the course of the entire Ashes series. On that occasion, Haddin rolled the ball that McGrath stumbled over on the morning of the match, but this time it was the Australian wicketkeeper forced out with a potentially series-ending injury.

Haddin sustained a suspected break of his left ring finger and was taken to hospital for scans. His captain, Ricky Ponting, had already submitted the Australian team sheet, which included Haddin's name, and team manager Steve Bernard sought permission from England team director Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss, which they acquiesced to.

Manou, 30, has played 88 first class games for South Australia, scoring 3.319 runs at 24.76 with the bat and claiming 299 dismissals. Haddin, meanwhile, is the second highest run scorer in the current series with 229 at 76.33, trailing only Strauss. He has endured a difficult series with the gloves, however, spilling several chances and conceding 53 byes at Sophia Gardens and Lord's.

Haddin is no stranger to broken fingers, fracturing a digit on his right hand in the first hour of his Test debut at Sabina Park last year. On that occasion, Haddin played through the pain in all three Tests against West Indies, before being rested for the limited overs portion of the Caribbean tour. He had played 17 consecutive Tests prior to his eleventh hour withdrawal on Thursday.

Manou becomes Australia's 411st Test player, and the first debutant since Bryce McGain's ill-fated appearace in Cape Town four months ago. His inclusion represented the second change to the Australian XI from Lord's, with Shane Watson earlier called in to replace the out-of-sorts Phillip Hughes at the top of the order.