All-rounder Moises Henriques' sudden indisposition has left the think-tank with an unenviable task of finding the right and fit 11 players for Thursday's fifth one-dayer against India, Australian coach Tim Nielsen said in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Henriques, who replaced for the injure James Hopes, will miss the day/night clash at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium following a right hamstring injury and Nielsen had no hesitation in admitting that it had upset his plans.
"In the ideal team, we had (first) James Hopes and (then) Moises batting at number seven along the line. We don't have those players now. The bowling also needs to adjust to the conditions and then we would decide the batting line-up. It is not simple or easy," a worried Nielsen told reporters.
"We have to ensure that we have five bowlers plus a spare bowler to ensure one guy doesn't have an off day. We have to make a few decisions with Moises getting injured," he added.
Nielsen said the extent of Henriques' injury would be known only after getting the scan reports from Australia.
"Moises had a strain on his right leg. It seems he damaged his right hamstring. We cannot assess it at the moment. We have to send the scans back to Australia. We are waiting for a word from Cricket Australia. He won't play tomorrow," Nielsen said.
Henriques became the fifth Australian -- after Brett Lee, James Hopes, Tim Paine and Peter Siddle -- to have picked up injury since the start of the series.
"The most difficult (thing), I suppose, is players getting hurt (so frequently) which means there is a change in the team in every game we have played. Having said that I'm pleased with the way the players have fought hard. The young players have come up to take up different roles," Nielsen said.
Even the popular notion is too much of cricket was taking toll on the players' physique, Nielsen did not blame the packed calender for the growing list of injury.
"It is pretty same around the world cricket. We understand that tournaments like IPL, Championship League makes the schedule more hectic but we have managed quite well.
"One of the players, Tim Paine, had a knock on his finger. That could have happened every day or once in a year," he said.
The result of all these injuries is that it has placed an extra burden on Ricky Ponting and Nielsen was all praise for the Australian captain for the way he had tackled challenges.
"That makes him such a fine player. Great players come out best when the game is tough. Ricky has done pretty well in this series, the Champions Trophy (which Australia won) and also in the England one-dayers. He has been outstanding," the coach said.
Nielsen was not too concerned about the dip in performance of ICC Cricketer of the Year Mitchell Johnson who has been very expensive in three out of four matches.
"He didn't have a great game the other night (at Mohali). I would be hoping that he gets better. He is a sort of a bowler who can make a comeback because he bowls quickly.
"He is left-armer, he can angle across the right-handers, specially a player like (Virender) Sehwag. He has every potential to get it right," Nielsen said.
Another left-hander, although from the rival camp, received rich praise from Nielsen, who seemed impressed by Yuvraj Singh.
"He is a fine player. He batted so well in Delhi. He paced himself well. He has got strokes for all types of wickets, slow or fast. He got runs on a difficult wicket. He has the ability to hit the ball very sweetly," he said. PTI
