South Australia opener Jake Weatherald has withdrawn from Friday’s Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria for mental health reasons.
Weatherald opened the season with a century against Western Australia, but SACA Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager John Porter revealed that Weatherald spoke with the SACA medical team about his mental health following the draw with Tasmania last week.
It was decided that he should time out of the game and leave the Shield hub to focus on his well-being.
“We are supportive of Jake, who has made the tough but right decision to leave the hub and focus on life outside of cricket for a short period,” Porter said.
“We are fully supportive of his decision and we’ll be keeping in touch with him and providing every support to ensure he is available for selection as soon as possible.”
South Australia will also be without fast bowler Kane Richardson who is on parental leave.
Will Bosisto comes into the squad to replace Weatherald, while Daniel Worrall has been included after recovering from a calf strain that kept him out of the first two rounds.
South Australia squad: Travis Head (c), Wes Agar, Will Bosisto, Tom Cooper, Brad Davis, Callum Ferguson, Henry Hunt, Conor McInerney, Harry Nielsen (wk), Lloyd Pope, Chadd Sayers, Liam Scott, Cameron Valente, Daniel Worrall, Nick Winter.