Shaun Marsh was ruled out of the opening ODI against South Africa due to requiring minor surgery on a buttock abscess.

There were no further details given by Cricket Australia when the news was confirmed shortly before the toss in Perth, but it was hoped Marsh would be available for the second ODI in Adelaide on Friday. It meant D'Arcy Short came into the line-up.

The loss of Marsh robbed Australia of one of their most in-form one-day batsmen of recent times following the tour of England earlier this year where he made two centuries.

After a lean Test series against Pakistan in the UAE it was suggested that Marsh should potentially skip this one-day series to spend more time in the Sheffield Shield ahead of the India series, but that was quickly talked down by coach Justin Langer who said you had to reward good form in various formats and Marsh was a key part of the one-day side.

Marsh did make the most of his Shield outing for Western Australia last week when he made 80 and 98 against Tasmania