Injured Rabada ruled out of ODI series for South Africa. Australia fields first in Game 1

CAIRNS, Australia (AP) — Pace bowler Kagiso Rabada was ruled out with an ankle injury in a major setback for South Africa just as the three-game ODI series got underway against Australia on Tuesday.

The Australians, coming off a 2-1 win in the T20 series, won the toss and elected to field in Cairns to start the one-day international portion of the tour.

This is the first ODI between the teams since Australia beat South Africa in the 2023 World Cup semifinals. Their scheduled Champions Trophy meeting in March was washed out.

Power hitter Dewald Brevis and allrounder Prenelan Subrayen were selected to make their ODI debuts for South Africa, and Temba Bavuma returned for his first match since leading the Proteas to the World Test Championship with a victory over Australia in the final at Lord’s.

The 30-year-old Rabada underwent scans on Monday which confirmed inflammation in his right ankle. Rabada will stay with the team in Australia and undergo rehabilitation.

Kewena Maphaka, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in last week’s T20 series, replaced Rabada in the squad but was left out of the playing XI for the first ODI.

Marnus Labuschagne returned to the Australian team after being dropped from the recent test series victory in the Caribbean.

Australia opted to play Alex Carey as a specialist batter and use Josh Inglis as the wicketkeeper.

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Lineups:

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Aaron Hardie, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma (captain), Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket