Mahli Beardman ruled out for the summer after a back stress fracture just weeks after Australia debut

Western Australian quick Mahli Beardman’s dream summer has come to a nightmare end after suffering a stress fracture in his back just days after his international debut. The 20-year-old is seen as a key part of Australia’s fast bowling future, making his Twenty20 international debut against Pakistan in January on the back of 13 wickets at 22.38 this summer and notably helped the Scorchers rip through the tail in their dominant defeat of the Sydney Sixers in the final. Beardman took two wickets in the defeat and was in the XI for the second match, but withdrew late after reporting stiffness in the warm-up. He also missed the final game of the series and was sent for scans, which revealed a “lumber bone stress injury.” “Scans have confirmed Mahli Beardman has sustained a lumbar bone stress injury,” Cricket Australia said in a statement. “He will now enter an extended period of rehabilitation and will be unavailable for the remainder of the domestic season.” It’s a massive blow for the young quick who had only recently returned to full fitness, having experienced stress fractures last year, which ruled him out of the start of the One-Day Cup. Beardman would have also been in line for a first-class debut for the back end of the Sheffield Shield, but he will instead join a growing fast bowler casualty ward. Fellow WA quick Lance Morris has missed this entire summer due to his own back injury, as has Spencer Johnson, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have both been ruled out of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad with their injuries. This latest setback will likely see Beardman miss out on Australia’s white-ball tours of Bangladesh and Pakistan in the winter and will be unlikely to return until next summer.