Alex Doolan suffers side strain

Alex Doolan, Australia's incumbent Test No.3, has returned home from a tour of India after suffering a side strain. Doolan was in Bangalore to play a pair of four-day games for a National Performance Squad XI in an effort to give him exposure to unfamiliar conditions, and he scored 83 in the first game against a team from India's National Cricket Academy.

However, Doolan suffered the side strain while batting and will return home to have the injury properly assessed. Doolan made his Test debut during Australia's most recent series in South Africa and played all three Tests, scoring 89 on debut in Centurion and averaging 31 over the course of the tour.

Although he was unable to break through for a maiden century during the South African tour, Doolan showed enough promise to suggest that he could be part of the squad for Australia's next Test series, against Pakistan in the UAE in October. Cricket Australia physiotherapist David Beakley said it was unclear at this stage how long Doolan would take to recover.

"[Doolan] will return home to Hobart to undergo further investigation and rehab ahead of his next playing commitments," Beakley said. "He will have scans in Hobart which will provide a clear indication of the injury and the timeframe for his return to play."