Crocked Andersson is happy to focus attention on batting
MARTIN ANDERSSON is both delighted and relieved to know he can live without the all-rounder tag while he battles back from a career-threatening injury, writes Jon Batham.
The 23-year-old broke into the Middlesex first XI at the end of last season after a successful loan spell with Derbyshire, only to suffer a double stress fracture of the back last winter.
He still cannot bowl so remains shorn of one of the key skills which led Middlesex to offer him a professional contract in 2018, but it seems it really is ‘an ill wind that blows no good’. With extra time to work on his batting, a ton for the reserves against Essex won him a call-up to the Seaxes’ top-five for the last two Championship matches of the season, where a maiden first-class 50 against Division Two champions Lancashire further underlined his promise just with willow in hand.
“It’s something that’s given me a bit of confidence at the end of the year to know I’ve been able to get a place in the side with just one of my skills,” said Andersson.
“Before the injury I saw myself as 50/50, but having been able to work on my batting for another year without being able to bowl, I’m now slightly favouring the batting. Hopefully when I can do both again, I can still potentially earn my spot with either one.”
The first signs of the trouble to come surfaced last December when Reading-born Andersson was 10,000 miles away playing club cricket in Adelaide.
He returned home and tried to carry on, only to break down during March’s pre-season friendly against Hampshire.
Out of options he underwent surgery, two screws being inserted in his back to correct the problem. He was confined to bed for a fortnight.
Scary as that was, he was able to see the surgery, with huge help from Middlesex physio Pete Waxman and his team, as the first step on the long journey of recovery.
“I’d had trouble with my back for quite a while until there was no alternative way to get through it,” he said. “So in a way it was easier to have the operation and then to set targets for different stages, like at six weeks, 10 weeks, three months, to try to follow certain goals with rehab through running and cycling.
“So there was a fairly clear path to follow and I was massively helped out by the physio team.
“I’ll probably stay off the bowling until December because there’s no point overloading myself too early.
“I’ll just do a lot of fitness all round to make sure my body is ready to go mid- to late-March, whenever the first game is next year.”