WORLD CUP KASPEREK’S AIM
AS long as Leigh Kasperek does not try to catch the ball any time soon, she should be good to go for the World Cup later this year.
The White Ferns and Otago offspinner has been copping a gentle rubbing from her teammates following her latest injury set back.
The 25yearold suffered multiple fractures in the little finger of her left hand while making a catch when warming up for the first twenty20 international against Australia in Melbourne on Friday.
She battled pain and played anyway. But a scan revealed significant damage which will require surgery.
She travels to Auckland today and will have surgery tomorrow.
‘‘Then it should be a good finger again,’’ she said.
‘‘I catch so many balls in practice without breaking any fingers. It is just bad luck.’’
Was it Albert Einstein who discovered bad luck comes in threes? Whatever, the unlucky break was Kasperek’s third such injury in the past 15 months.
In October, she fractured her spin finger while training and had to return from the tour of South Africa and also missed the home series against Pakistan.
She suffered another finger fracture during Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand last summer.
The good news is Kasperek is expected to recover in plenty of
time for the World Cup in England in June and July.
‘‘At least I’ll still be able to bowl so I’m quite lucky in that respect,’’ she said.
‘‘And it’s good. I will be able to focus on my bowling. I’ll be able to get in the gym and it’s not going to stop me too much other than getting out on to park and
doing some catching.’’
That will have to wait until her finger is properly healed which will be between four to six weeks.
‘‘It is pretty gutting not to be [in Australia]. I was watching [game two] on TV the other day and I felt like I was missing out.
‘‘But I’m lucky it won’t keep me out of contention for the World Cup, so I’ve just got to train hard and give myself the best shot of getting selected for that.’’
Kasperek has become a key member of the bowling unit since making her debut in 2015. In nine oneday internationals, she has taken 13 wickets at an average of 17.23, while in 13 T20 games she has 25 wickets at 9.36.
The former Scottish international helped the Otago Sparks win the domestic T20 this season. She was the leading wickettaker in the tournament with eight wickets at an average of 15.50. She is also a more than handy batsman.