Kuhnemann cleared for Sri Lanka after thumb injury

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Kuhnemann cleared for Sri Lanka after thumb injury

Matthew Kuhnemann will be available for selection in the first Test of the Sri Lanka series despite a thumb injury that had threatened his tour.

The left-arm offspinner fractured the thumb of his non-bowling hand playing for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League last week and underwent surgery.

The injury forced Kuhnemann to miss Australia’s ongoing training camp at the ICC Academy in Dubai, instead remaining in Australia to allow his surgical wound to heal.

Kuhnemann has since resumed bowling and Cricket Australia confirmed on Friday afternoon he would fly to Sri Lanka to meet the squad this weekend.

Kuhnemann will be joined by up-and-coming Victorian batter Oliver Peake, who has been invited to the squad’s camp in Galle as a development player.

The 18-year-old has represented Australia at under-19s level and made his BBL debut for the Melbourne Renegades against the Heat last week, scoring 19 runs.

Kuhnemann’s recovery is a big boost for an *********** squad looking for a rare subcontinent Test series win, with the left-armer a favoured selection option next to right-handed Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy.

The 28-year-old made his Test debut on the last subcontinent tour to India in 2023, playing three of a possible four Tests and taking a five-wicket haul in the first innings of Australia’s win in Indore.

But Kuhnemann’s return to fitness looms as a blow to Cooper Connolly’s hopes of making a shock Test debut in the two-match series that begins on January 29.

Connolly has played only four first-class matches and is yet to take a wicket at that level, but a series-ending injury to Kuhnemann would have left him as the sole left-arm spinner touring.

The 21-year-old now appears unlikely to earn a Test debut after a breakout 2024 that saw him earn maiden Twenty20 International and one-day international caps.

Kuhnemann’s recovery comes after stand-in captain Steve Smith overcame a minor elbow injury to join the squad in Dubai this week.

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