You can never have enough spinners when touring Sri Lanka, especially when playing red-ball cricket. For a team like Australia, which has not played any Test games outside bouncy and seam-friendly SENA venues during this Test Championship cycle, the need for a stacked spin department is more pressing than ever now that they are gearing up for the Sri Lanka tour. For most of the current WTC cycle, they relied upon Nathan Lyon to manage the spin duties. That would be far from sustainable in Sri Lanka, so Matthew Kuhnemann and Cooper Conolly will join him as the side’s frontline tweakers.
However, Kuhnemann’s presence is still in the air after a return catch injured his thumb during the recent BBL edition. His immediate thoughts after damaging his right thumb were the apprehensions that he would miss the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. However, surgery eased those concerns as he was cleared to fly to Sri Lanka, albeit days after his teammates. Having missed Australia’s training session in Dubai, Kuhnemann participated fully in his first practice session after landing in Sri Lanka, to prove he was fitter than ever to make it to the team.
He was seen wearing a brace on his right thumb during training. However, he feels ‘pain-free’ and is ready to play in the first Test game, which starts in less than 48 hours. Although it is uncertain whether he will be part of the playing XI, the fact that the injury did not affect his bowling hand will definitely work in his favor.
Before the first training session, Kuhnemann said his recent injury was not as painful as the one he had a couple of years ago when he hurt the same thumb.
“I had a couple of sessions back home and I was obviously cautious batting and fielding and everything but bowling, I haven’t had a problem whatsoever. I did this same thumb a couple of years ago and it was real painful but this one has been fine from the get-go.”
Kuhnemann has only three Test caps, all of which he earned playing against India in 2023. He took nine wickets in three Test games during that tour and impressed with his ability to adapt to the sub-continental conditions. It was on the back of those performances that he was considered the top choice for the Sri Lanka tour. However, with an injured thumb, the prospects were bleak for him. He confessed feeling disappointed with the ‘timing’ of the injury at one point.
“Definitely there were times when I was disappointed. It’s not great timing. There was a couple of hours. But I believe everything happens for a reason and you sort of move on. Obviously you do everything you can because these tours don’t come around very often as a spinner.”
But Kuhnemann is high on confidence now as he hopes to get into the side for the first Test. Despite missing the training session in Dubai, he has little to no FOMO related to that.
“The boys said I didn’t miss out on too much and what I was bowling on back in Brisbane was an eight-day-old wicket so it worked out pretty good. If it was the off-season then maybe it would be a blow to miss Dubai but we’re in the middle of summer and the workloads and confidence are high. Everything is all good.”
