Leeds, Sep 3 (IANS) South Africa suffered a setback in their ongoing ODI series against England as Tony de Zorzi was ruled out of the remainder of the three-match contest following a hamstring injury in the first match at Headingley, Leeds.

De Zorzi, fielding on the boundary, made a diving effort to stop a Jos Buttler shot from reaching the boundary. While the play was successful, he injured his left hamstring in the process and had to leave the field for treatment.

He did not return to the match and was only available to bat if required; however, South Africa were chasing a modest target of 132 and did not require his services. He will now return home to undergo scans to assess the full extent of the injury.

No replacement batter has been named for de Zorzi, who was the reserve in the squad and had played in place of Matthew Breetzke. Breetzke himself had missed the final ODI in Australia and the first match in England due to a left hamstring tweak, but has since recovered. He is available for selection in the second ODI on Thursday and is expected to slot back into the No. 4 position in the batting order.

South Africa’s squad continues to face injury uncertainties. Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who missed the ODIs in Australia with ankle inflammation, did not feature at Headingley. The inclusion of Codi Yusuf, who has been representing Durham in domestic cricket, suggests Rabada may not return until the T20I leg of the tour.

Another concern is captain Temba Bavuma, who remains under a workload-management protocol after sustaining a hamstring injury in the World Test Championship final in June. Bavuma participated in two of the three ODIs in Australia and the first ODI against England, but is likely to be rested for one of the remaining two matches to manage his fitness.

Despite the injury concerns, South Africa lead the series 1-0 and will look to consolidate their advantage in the second ODI.

–IANS

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