Ben McDermott has been added to Australia’s ODI squad as cover for the recovering Shaun Marsh ahead of the second ODI against the Proteas in Adelaide on Friday according to ESPNcricinfo.

The 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has been drafted in as backup for Shaun Marsh at the top of the Australian batting lineup while Marsh recovers from an operation to remove an abscess from his buttock.

D’Arcy Short, who had initially replaced Marsh in the first ODI, looks likely to miss out after an unimpressive second-ball duck in Perth.

Australia’s chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns confirmed that McDermott’s inclusion was solely to give Australia cover should Marsh be unable to play on Friday.

‘Part of the decision to include Ben is to ensure we have appropriate coverage should Shaun Marsh fail to recover in time for Friday’s second ODI,’ said Hohns. ‘We will continue to monitor Shaun’s progress and give him every opportunity to prove his fitness ahead of the match.’

McDermott will, unfortunately for him, be remembered through the ages as the hapless victim of three run-outs – one for each innings – in Australia’s recently-concluded T20I series against Pakistan in the UAE.

He will hope to add some fight – and desperately-needed runs – to a brittle Australian batting order that will next face South Africa at the Adelaide Oval on Friday in the second of three ODI’s in the series. The Aussies are in need of a win to avoid losing the series and adding to a poor run of results in 2018.

Read also: Proteas dominate Australia in Perth 

Australia squad
Aaron Finch (c)
Josh Hazlewood
Alex Carey
Ashton Agar
Nathan Coulter-Nile
Pat Cummins
Travis Head
Chris Lynn
Shaun Marsh
Glenn Maxwell
D’Arcy Short
Marcus Stoinis
Mitchell Starc
Adam Zampa
Ben McDermott

South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (c)
Farhaan Behardien
Quinton de Kock
Reeza Hendricks
Imran Tahir
Heinrich Klaasen
Aiden Markram
David Miller
Chris Morris
Lungi Ngidi
Andile Phehlukwayo
Dwaine Pretorius
Kagiso Rabada
Tabraiz Shamsi
Dale Steyn

Photo: ICC/Twitter.com