Blues lose Bracken to hamstring strain

Nathan Bracken has been ruled out of the New South Wales side for this week's games against South Australia after failing to overcome a hamstring strain. Bracken picked up the problem during the Blues' recent Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia and he was a late withdrawal from the one-dayer in Cairns on Saturday.

"Nathan pulled up tight towards the end of the Perth [match] last week and even though he could run as normal in the warm-up [in Cairns], he just feels it when he bowls," Matthew Mott, the New South Wales coach, told the Daily Telegraph. "We decided to err on the side of caution and hopefully it's not too serious."

But the New South Wales selection panel had better news this week for another former Test-playing Nathan. The Blues have included Nathan Hauritz in the 12-man Sheffield Shield squad to take on South Australia in Adelaide starting on Friday.

Should Hauritz play it will be his first outing at first-class level since last November. There has been a long queue for spin positions at New South Wales over the past year and Hauritz's inclusion means three slow bowlers are in contention for the Adelaide Oval clash with Beau Casson and Steven Smith also in the squad.

The four-day match is preceded by an FR Cup game on Wednesday and the Blues have named the allrounder Moises Henriques in their 13-man group. Henriques has been in and out of the Blues' calculations for the first few weeks of the season but until now has been unable to bowl due to a lingering side injury.

FR Cup squad Phillip Hughes, Peter Forrest, Daniel Smith (wk), Dominic Thornely (capt), Steven Smith, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve O'Keefe, Grant Lambert, Moises Henriques, Nathan Hauritz, Mark Cameron, Aaron Bird.

Sheffield Shield squad Phillip Hughes, Greg Mail, Peter Forrest, Dominic Thornely (capt), Steven Smith, Daniel Smith (wk), Grant Lambert, Moises Henriques, Beau Casson, Nathan Hauritz, Mark Cameron, Burt Cockley.