Tait frustrated by injury setback

ADELIADE—Australia’s talented paceman Shaun Tait says he is uncertain when he will be fit enough to play cricket again. The 24-year-old was withdrawn from Australia’s squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka starting on Thursday due to recurring elbow problems.
He underwent surgery in June but scans have now revealed blood and fluid in his troublesome right elbow. Tait told The Australian: “I have spent five months trying to get back for the first Test, so it’s disappointing.”
He said he hopes to play in South Australia’s Pura Cup clash with Western Australia starting on 23 November but conceded his return was uncertain.
He has been replaced in the 13-man Australia squad by Tasmania fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus. One of the stars of the World Cup in the spring, Tait has played just one first-class match in the ongoing Australian domestic season.
He said: “I have had a couple of injections in [the elbow] so I can’t really feel it. We’ll see how we go in the next week or so.”
He said he hopes to play in South Australia’s Pura Cup clash with Western Australia starting on 23 November but conceded his return was uncertain.
“As soon as it feels a bit better I can start bowling so I might have a bowl later on this week,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world. [I’ll] miss a couple of weeks but the next 18 months there is a lot of cricket on, so hopefully there will be an opportunity there to get back in the side.”
The most optimistic prognosis at the weekend from the Australia camp was that Tait might return to fitness for the second Test at Hobart from 16 November.
But that no longer appears on the cards and Tait’s lack of bowling in recent months will count against him in terms of winning selection for any Australian starting XI before the end of the year.—Agencies