Will Salzmann becomes second player subbed out of a Sheffield Shield match with injury after fielding mishap
Salzmann subbed out after tearing hamstring trying to save boundary
New South Wales young gun Will Salzmann has been subbed out of his side’s blockbuster Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria after injuring his hamstring while fielding in the opening session on day one.
Salzmann tore his left hamstring while sliding to try and stop a Harry Dixon boundary in the fourth over at the SCG on Monday.
The 21-year-old sprinted about 60m from gully after Dixon drove Test paceman Josh Hazlewood firmly through point and slid for several metres on his back when his attempt to flick the ball back in play was unsuccessful.
Salzmann left the field immediately for treatment with NSW confirming after lunch that he had been replaced in the XI by wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Hicks.
Salzmann is the second player to be subbed out of a Sheffield Shield match under trial rules allowing injury replacements after Blues teammate Sean Abbott made history as the first injury substitution in their away clash with Victoria last month.
Today’s match marks Abbott’s return to the NSW side after splitting his webbing while fielding off his own bowling during their round two fixture in Melbourne, but he has played a T20 international for Australia in between Shield appearances.
NSW remain the only state to take advantage of the injury replacement trial introduced by Cricket Australia for the opening five rounds of the Shield season, with the rule allowing opponents Victoria to now make a tactical substitution by the end of day two.
That sub must be a like-for-like for Salzmann – presumably a batter given he hasn’t bowled in his past two Shield matches as he returns from off-season ankle surgery. The right-hander was named to open the batting alongside Sam Konstas for the second match in a row before being subbed out.
Victoria didn’t take up the offer of a tactical substitution when Abbott was injured in round two and will have to lodge an application with the match referee by stumps on day two if they wish to on this occasion.
Salzmann, usually a seam-bowling allrounder when fully fit, has been one of the Blues’ shining lights through the first four rounds of the season.
He top scored for NSW in both innings (43 and 72) on first-class debut in their round one win over Western Australia and scored 65 in his first innings as an opener in the previous round having never previously batted higher than No.7 for his state.
Hicks comes back into the team after making his first-class debut in their round three draw with Queensland. But the 20-year-old will quickly need to brush up on his fielding skills with Josh Philippe returning from Australian duties to take the gloves in this match.
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Australian quicks Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood and Abbott were making life difficult for the Victorian batters on day one with opener Campbell Kellaway posting a gritty half-century after the early losses of Dixon (20) and Marcus Harris (5).
Kellaway weathered painful blows to his hand off both Hazlewood and Abbott before falling for 51 when he gloved a delivery down the leg side to give Starc his second wicket.
CA will make a call on whether to continue with their injury substitution trial at the end of the next Shield round (round five) as the ICC considers whether similar rules could one day be introduced at Test level.
Injury replacement trials are also being conducted in India and South Africa’s first-class competitions.
The debate over whether injury replacements should be allowed in cricket was raised most recently during the England-India Test series earlier this year when both Rishabh Pant (foot) and Chris Woakes (shoulder) batted despite suffering serious injuries earlier in the match.
Salzmann must now serve a mandatory 12-day standdown period from cricket that ends on November 24, meaning he’ll be unavailable for the Blues’ next Shield game (against Tasmania) beginning on November 22.
Sheffield Shield 2025-26 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
Victoria Men
VIC
3
3
0
0
0
0
2.39
2.6
22.99
2
Queensland Bulls
QLD
3
1
0
2
0
0
4.9
2.3
15.2
3
NSW Men
NSW
3
1
1
1
0
0
1.55
2.8
11.35
4
Tasmanian Tigers Men
TAS
3
1
1
1
0
2
1.63
2.2
8.83
5
South Australia Men
SA
3
0
2
1
0
0
1.3
2.6
4.9
6
Western Australia Men
WA
3
0
2
1
0
0
0.66
3
4.66
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points