Lahore, March 1: Australia captain Steve Smith hinted that injured opener Matthew Short is likely to miss the Champions Trophy semi-final after picking up a quad injury against Afghanistan in their Group B final fixture on Friday.

A washout clash against Afghanistan steered Australia to semis from Group B while the former will be expecting England to do something miraculous to take them to the top four.

Short sustained an injury late in Afghanistan's innings, and despite opening the batting alongside Travis Head, he struggled to move freely between the wickets, focusing mainly on hitting boundaries. He managed to score 20 off 15 balls in a valuable opening stand of 44 runs in 4.3 overs before being dismissed at mid-on. After the match, captain Steven Smith acknowledged the time constraints on Short's recovery.

"I think he'll be struggling. I think we saw tonight he wasn't moving very well. I think it's probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover," Smith said at the post-match presentation.

Jake Fraser-McGurk, a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh, is the spare batter in the squad and could be a direct swap for Short at the top of the order. However, other options are available, with all-rounder Aaron Hardie possibly stepping in if someone else is moved up to open.

"We’ve got a few guys available to fill the role," Smith said.

If Short is officially ruled out for the rest of the tournament, Cooper Connolly, the left-handed batter and left-arm spinner, could be called up as a travelling reserve. Short's absence would also remove a spin-bowling option, as he had bowled seven excellent overs for just 21 runs against Afghanistan. Still, Australia have other spin-bowling options, including Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, who took two wickets against England but were not used on Friday.

Australia had already been dealing with several injuries leading into the tournament, with Marsh (back), Pat Cummins (ankle), Josh Hazlewood (hip), and Mitchell Starc (ankle) all sidelined, and Marcus Stoinis announcing his retirement.

The qualification of the other team from Group B remains uncertain, with South Africa likely to join Australia. However, the semi-final venues won’t be determined until the conclusion of the India-New Zealand game on Sunday night. The finishing positions in Group B will be decided after South Africa's match against England on Saturday, but India and New Zealand are already locked into their respective venues in Dubai and Lahore.

If South Africa top the group by beating England, Australia will face the winner of the India-New Zealand game in the semi-final. If England win, Australia will play the loser of that match.

Whichever team ends up in Dubai will have just over 24 hours to prepare. Conditions in Dubai, where India play all their matches, have favoured spinners, and Australia have leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha as a potential frontline option.

On the other hand, playing in Lahore would offer more familiar conditions for Australia, given their previous matches in the city, including a win chasing 352 against England. However, there’s still a possibility that Australia could be required to travel to Dubai, with the final being hosted in the UAE if India qualify, or in Lahore in the absence of India.

--IANS

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