Richardson hopeful of making Australia WC squad

Melbourne, March 28 (IANS) Based on scans which revealed no bone damage or fracture, Australia pacer Jhye Richardson, who was ruled out of the ongoing five-match ODI series against Pakistan with a dislocated shoulder, is hopeful of catching the World Cup bus.

"Jhye Richardson has had scans on his right shoulder to assess the extent of his injury. The scans demonstrated the usual soft tissue damage we expect following a dislocation but fortunately has excluded any bone damage or fracture," Richard Saw, Australia's team doctor, was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

"We are hopeful that Jhye will not require surgery but he will see a shoulder specialist early next week for a further opinion. We will be able to provide an update in respect to next steps once we have all the information on the table."

It remains to be seen whether he will require surgery.

Richardson had dislocated his right shoulder while fielding during Australia's second ODI against Pakistan on Sunday in Sharjah.

"Everyone in the Australian camp is hopeful, I'm hopeful and in high spirits," Richardson was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.

"I'm not ruling out the World Cup at this stage, that's definitely not an option. It's all about getting the shoulder right at this stage.

"JL (Justin Langer) said he's pleased with how I've been going about my business, I was really satisfied with how I played in India and going into the Pakistan series as well I was happy with the way I was playing. The shoulder injury is unfortunate, but these things do happen and I'm eager to bounce back quickly," he added.