WA without 11 star players for Marsh Cup opener

Hilton Cartwright has joined a long list of absentees for Western Australia's Marsh One-Day Cup opener on Tuesday, with the defending champions already without nine first-choice players for the match against South Australia.

Cartwright has been ruled out of the game in Perth - which will be shown live on cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, Fox Cricket & Kayo Sports - after suffering a debilitating back spasm in the Marsh Sheffield Shield over the weekend, which left him barely able to stand up late on the third day.

WA already had nine star players unavailable due to Australia's T20 tour of New Zealand, including paceman AJ Tye, who is not contracted but has said he plans to feature in the Marsh Cup later this month.

The loss of Cartwright means WA's depth will be tested even further in the opening game of their title defence and means more responsiblity will fall on the shoulders of leading players like Shaun Marsh and Cameron Green.

Cartwright has a history of disc problems and had been troubled by back pain last week but was cleared to play the Shield match at the WACA Ground after passing a fitness test.

However, having innocuously moved to collect a ball in the field during SA's second innings, he slowly collapsed to the ground and stayed hunched over on his hands and knees for more than a minute as teammates and medical staff checked on his welfare.

Even when he was helped up to his feet, the 29-year-old struggled to stand up straight and was in obvious pain, holding his head in his hands before slowly walking off the ground.

Having received treatment and been given painkillers on day four, he bravely came out to bat at No.7 with WA fighting to save the game and defiantly blocked out 122 deliveries as SA fell just one wicket short of victory.

"It's like the paper-clip theory; as soon as you keep pushing your back a bit too far, it eventually 'snaps'," Cartwright said of his injury.

"As I went down for that ball, I had the same feeling I had last week when I got out of bed.

"Thankfully, it was more the muscles around it that seized up. My disc flared up a little bit, but it wasn't too bad.

"The doctors ... flushed through my back and I got some nice painkillers on board for me to go out there and face some pretty decent bowling.

"Back-foot play a lot easier because I was quite upright. It was more when I was on the front foot, it was a lot harder. When you have to bend forward, it makes it quite tough."

Cartwright has been rested from Tuesday's game as a precaution, while paceman Matt Kelly has also been left out having bowled almost 40 overs in the Shield game.

Those unavailable for Tuesday's game due to the NZ tour are Josh Philippe, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, Tye and Jason Behrendorff, who would all probably join Shaun Marsh and Green in WA's best XI, if they were free to play.

The ability of that group to play for WA immediately after the NZ tour ends on March 7 may be compromised by the recent COVID-19 outbreak across the Tasman. Currently, the borders of WA and Queensland are closed to all arrivals from New Zealand, while other states require those coming from Auckland – where the Australia squad's flight is currently scheduled to depart next week – to quarantine for 14 days.

WA are scheduled to play a Marsh Cup game in Brisbane on March 11, but that match may be relocated to another state in order for those returning from NZ to avoid having to go into hotel quarantine for two weeks.

It's expected all the country's leading players will be available for their states at some stage during March before those playing in the IPL depart for India.

Despite being without 11 key players on Tuesday, WA still have an strong list of players to choose from against the Redbacks, including dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis, former Test opener Cameron Bancroft and pace duo Joel Paris and Cameron Gannon.

"It's going to give a lot of guys an opportunity to play in different roles," Cartwright said.

"It's a massive chance for guys to show what they can do in the one-day format, especially some young guys."

WA squad: Shaun Marsh (c), Cameron Bancroft, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Bradley Hope, Josh Inglis, Liam O’Connor, Joel Paris, Charlie Stobo, Sam Whiteman

Players unavailable: Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Matt Kelly, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye* (not contracted but plans to play for WA later this month)