NAGPUR: Australia’s cricket team suffered a major blow today when injured pace spearheads Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were both ruled out of the second one-day international with India.

Cricket Australia official Andrew Hilditch said Lee and Johnson would both miss Wednesday’s match in Nagpur after suffering elbow and ankle injuries respectively in Sunday’s narrow four-run win. “Our medical staff have now decided that while both Brett Lee (right elbow) and Mitchell Johnson’s (left ankle) injuries have responded well to treatment, they will be severe enough to rule them out for tomorrow’s match in Nagpur,” Hilditch said.

Australia also called up Moises Henriques as a standby for injured all-rounder James Hopes, who will miss at least the next two matches of the seven-game series. “With James Hopes’ right hamstring injury being more serious and likely to keep him out for at least the next two matches it is thought adding a standby player to the squad is a necessity,” Hilditch said.

“Given the most significant injury appears to be Hopes’ hamstring, we have taken this opportunity to add Moises Henriques to the squad until the completion of the fourth game in Mohali,”said Hilditch.