Australia’s Beth Mooney to miss Women’s Ashes with fractured jaw

The 28-year-old is also a doubt for the ODI World Cup in New Zealand in March.

Australia batter Beth Mooney. (Cricket Australia/Twitter)

Cricket Australia on Tuesday said that batter Beth Mooney will miss the Women’s Ashes series against England after fracturing her jaw in training.

A massive blow for Australia with star batter Beth Mooney to undergo surgery for a fractured jaw after a blow at training, while other changes to Australia's preparations have been forced by COVID-19 protocols.#Ashes | @CommBank pic.twitter.com/tZvhWcTPvM

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 18, 2022

Mooney, the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 batter, will undergo surgery later in the day after being hit in training on Monday, with her return date to be confirmed after the operation.

The 28-year-old is also a doubt for the ODI World Cup in New Zealand in March. Australia will fly out around Feb. 10, CA said, in order to meet the mandatory 10-day quarantine requirement ahead of the tournament.

“Beth was batting incredibly well and as can happen, just a rogue ball came up and put her in a tough position and she tried to get out of the way, but copped it on the side of the chin,” Australia coach Matthew Mott said.

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Australia are already without spinners Georgia Wareham and Sophie Molineux for the Ashes but all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who will miss the warm-up matches against Australia A after a COVID-19 scare, will be available for the start of the series.

The multi-format series begins on Thursday with the first of three T20 internationals at the Adelaide Oval.

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