Australia's Hastings suffers foot injury before B'desh, India tour

Australia fast bowler John Hastings has sustained a stress fracture in his foot while playing for English county side Worcestershire and will return home for treatment and rehabilitation.

The 31-year-old, who played for Australia during the Champions Trophy team in June, suffered the injury during Worcestershire's four-day match against Sussex.

"We sent him for an MRI scan which shows some inflammation through the foot and some stress through a certain bone in his foot," Worcestershire Head of Medicine and Science Ben Davies said in a statement on the club's website. (www.wccc.co.uk)

"Cricket Australia have got international cricket coming up. They want John back in their care and will be hoping to get him fit and available for selection."

Australia next play two Tests in Bangladesh in August and September before a one-day series in India and the home Ashes series around the New Year.

Haddin replaces Blewett as Australia fielding coach

Former Test wicket-keeper Brad Haddin has replaced Greg Blewett as Australia's fielding coach until the end of 2019, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.

Haddin, who played 66 Tests despite Adam Gilchrist blocking his path into the side until he was 30, has cut his coaching teeth with the Australia A side and Islamabad in the Pakistan Premier League since retiring in 2015.

The 39-year-old, who will work under head coach Darren Lehmann, said he was looking forward to working with what is a relatively inexperienced Australia team.

"I grew up in an era of players like Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting who gave Australian cricket a real identity in the standards of world class fielding," he said in a news release.

"They were the type of players who took it personally if the team wasn't fielding well and that created a level for the rest of the group to aspire to.

"I want to hold this group accountable to that kind of standard and I believe we have the talent to do that."

Former Test all-rounder Blewett has stepped down to take up a role as under-19 coach at the South Australian Cricket Association, where he played Sheffield Shield cricket for 15 years.