GLOOM AS VOGES SET FOR SCAN WOE
FRANKLIN PESSIMISTIC ABOUT AUSSIE BATSMAN
JAMES FRANKLIN fears Middlesex teammate Adam Voges’ latest injury may prove as bad as it first appeared.
The former Australian vice-captain pulled up sharply after popping a calf taking a single in last weekend’s turgid draw with Specsavers County Championship Division One basement boys Somerset at Lord’s.
He had to be helped from the field and took no further part in the match, leaving skipper Franklin sweating on the results of a scan yesterday.
Decisions on whether to recruit a replacement for the overseas ace will depend on the extent of the damage.
While Franklin hopes such drastic steps will not be necessary, experience tells him one of his batting lynchpins may be sitting out a crucial period, starting with Friday’s trip to face Lancashire at Southport.
“We face a lot of cricket over the next few weeks but decisions on any replacement will have to wait until we know the extent of Adam’s injury,” he said. “We just wanted to wait for a bit of swelling to go down before they chuck him under the scan and really find out what is going on.
“I think we are reasonably worried though. It is never great when a batsman flicks a ball off his hip and basically within one pace pulls up pretty sharply.
“Reading between the lines, I don’t think there is a lot of hope there that he will be fit in the next few weeks.”
Unwelcome as that news is, as always in sport, one man’s injury is another’s opportunity and Paul Stirling may be the man to step into the breach.
The Irish international made the most of a rare call-up to first team duties, scoring a half-century against Somerset.
With Dawid Malan due to return from England Lions duty and Sam Robson expected to recover from the hamstring problem which has sidelined him for five weeks, it should have been a fleeting moment in the spotlight.
However, if as expected Voges is ruled out, Stirling is likely to vie with an out-of-sorts Nick Compton for the remaining spot.