Left-arm spinner will return to UK for treatment, with no replacement due to join tour
Tom Hartley picked up 7 for 62 on debut against India last year • Associated Press
Tom Hartley, the Lancashire left-arm spinner, has been ruled out of England Lions’ tour of Australia, after suffering a fractured right hand during training in Brisbane on Thursday.
Hartley, 25, played in all five of England’s Tests on their tour of India in January-March last year, claiming 22 wickets at 36.13, including a matchwinning 7 for 62 in the second innings of his debut at Hyderabad.
However, he has not been called upon since, with the offspinner Shoaib Bashir emerging as England’s favoured option. Hartley did earn a call-up to England’s T20 World Cup squad in June, but did not feature in the team’s run to the semi-finals.
His injury is a blow to his hopes of staking a claim for a Test recall, particularly with England’s senior team set to return to Australia in October for the 2025-26 Ashes. Both he and Bashir had been selected for the Lions trip, which will feature three red-ball matches, including an unofficial Test against Australia A in Sydney from January 30-February 2.
Hartley will now return to the UK, where he will undergo further assessment by the Lancashire medical teams. No replacement player has been called up to join the squad.
The tour, which will be overseen by Lions head coach Andrew Flintoff, begins in earnest on January 14, with a four-day fixture against a Cricket Australia Select XI in Brisbane.
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