Injured Doggett out of West Indies Tests, Abbott called up as replacement

Brendan Doggett has been ruled out of Australia's Test series against West Indies due to a hip injury with Sean Abbott called up as his replacement.

Doggett, whose injury has been described as "minor", was the traveling reserve for the World Test Championship final and was due to be part of the squad in the Caribbean but will now instead return to Australia.

He ended the 2024-25 season with the spectacular match figures of 11 for 140 in the Sheffield Shield final for South Australia, during a summer where he climbed back up the national pecking order of pace bowlers, and may have pushed for a Test debut in West Indies.

Abbott, like Doggett, is uncapped at Test level, was in Australia's squad which toured Sri Lanka earlier this year and also during the India series at home. He is often considered one of the unluckier players yet to earn a cap.

Australia will travel to Barbados in the middle of next week ahead of the first Test which begins on June 25, followed by matches in Grenada and Jamaica, the latter of which will be a day-night encounter.

There is a chance Australia could alter the balance of their attack at stages during the series if conditions are conducive to turn with left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann a potential partner for Nathan Lyon alongside two quicks. Beau Webster's presence in the side means they would still have an extra seamer if needed.

"What are we going to get in the Caribbean? We haven't been there since 2016, so there's a little bit of the unknown, but we feel as though we've got a squad that can cover all bases," head coach Andrew McDonald said.

They will also need to assess the fitness of Steven Smith when they arrive following the compound dislocation he suffered on the third day at Lord's which has left him doubtful for the opening Test. However, he avoided a break which would likely have required surgery and though he is required to wear a splint for eight weeks may be able to bat in it after around a fortnight.

"It just split the skin and dislocated it, which made me feel pretty ill at that stage," Smith told the ICC. "I think in a splint for eight weeks now and may be able to play with it in a couple of weeks, so it'll depend on my functionality and what I'm able to do, but it's probably the best result I could have hoped for."