In a bitter blow to the Australia team, star all-rounder Ellyse Perry has been ruled out of the World Cup semi-final clash against West Indies on Wednesday in Wellington.
Australian skipper Meg Lanning confirmed the news during the pre-match press conference. She then revealed that Perry was an observer at Australia's final training morning session on Tuesday at the Basin Reserve.
Last week, Perry, who also missed the knockout stages of the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup on home soil due to a hamstring injury, suffered back spasms during Australia's victory over South Africa. Although she didn't get to bat, Australia registered their sixth consecutive win in the tournament.
However, the in-form all-rounder received back-to-back 'Player of the Match' awards against New Zealand and West Indies earlier in the tournament. She dismissed West Indies batters Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews and Kycia Knight inside the powerplay and returned with magical figures of 3/22.
Meanwhile, pace bowling all-rounder Jane Sutherland, who was drafted in place for her senior teammate against Bangladesh, is likely to retain her spot in the playing XI.
Lanning told reporters that "She batted a little bit in the nets yesterday and felt okay, but she certainly just wasn't in a position, unfortunately, to be able to perform at the level needed for tomorrow."
"Unfortunate for her and the team, obviously a big blow, but we feel like we've got some good depth to be able to cover it and we're going to have to do that tomorrow," the Aussie captain added.
Australian all-rounder Perry mentioned that "My back's going pretty well," she said, "Obviously, a couple of days still before the match, so I think we'll still just keep playing that by ear, but [by] bearing in mind that we'll probably need to decide in the next day or so."
"At this stage, it's going really well. But obviously just need to make sure that I'm in the best possible spot to be able to contribute if I was to play, so I think we'll do a couple more things at training in the next few days. If I get there, I do. Fingers crossed," she concluded.
Australia Women's squad:
Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington.