Neser sidelined as Australia finalise Bangladesh preparations

Australia fast bowler Michael Neser has been ruled out of action after sustaining a strain to his right calf muscle while training with the national squad in Brisbane. Cricket Australia confirmed the injury "will prevent him from training or playing for several weeks," casting a shadow over his immediate international prospects.

Neser had been serving as a stand-by bowler for the upcoming Bangladesh Tests, but the injury is a significant setback. He will now target a return for Australia's tour of South Africa, which begins in late September, as the paceman looks to regain full fitness.

MacDonald confident on Inglis availability

Australia received a far more encouraging update on wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis, who experienced back spasms during an intra-squad match at Allan Border Field earlier this week. Head coach Andrew McDonald moved quickly to allay any concerns about Inglis's fitness for the Bangladesh series opener in Darwin.

"He's had a back flare up. He has had these from time to time. There'll be no issue, it'll just be letting it settle down and then getting him back into work," McDonald said. "We've got enough time. We'll probably be conservative on that, make sure that's right before you see him return into the nets and the preparation phase... there is no concern around whether he would be available or not."

Underlining the measured approach to his squad's fitness, McDonald detailed how Australia's preparations had been carefully managed over the past month, with players travelling between Brisbane and their home states before coming together for match simulations this week.

"We've had two decent hit-outs, 60 overs a day, everyone's been able to meet the demands," he said. "We've been able to create a connection from training, build up that intensity with the match simulation, it almost took on the shape of a fully-fledged game, which was people were able to as nice."

"It's a group that's keen to get back into it and we've got a couple more days on Thursday and Friday to finish off that preparation. The guys have been doing a lot of work coming back and forth to Brisbane," added McDonald.

Series schedule

The two-match Test series against Bangladesh begins on August 13 in Darwin, with the second Test to be played in Mackay from August 22.