Bollinger and Franklin given clearance

Doug Bollinger bowls against Pakistan in one of his three ODI appearances for Australia in the recent UAE series

Buy this photo

Australia and New Zealand have both been given permission to replace injured players Nathan Bracken and Jacob Oram in their respective ICC Champions Trophy squads.

The International Cricket Council’s technical committee today confirmed Australia could replace Bracken with fellow New South Wales seamer Doug Bollinger, while the Black Caps have brought James Franklin in for all-rounder Oram.

Bracken was ruled out of the tournament yesterday due to a long-term knee problem while Oram strained his left hamstring to allow Franklin the chance to make his first ODI appearance since the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Bollinger, 28, has played just three ODIs for his country all of which came during Australia’s series against Pakistan in United Arab Emirates earlier this year.

The 28-year-old is now free to play in Australia’s first game of their Champions Trophy defence against West Indies in Johannesburg tomorrow.

Franklin could make his return in New Zealand’s second game of the tournament against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

The Kiwis lost their opener to tournament hosts South Africa yesterday by five wickets.