Bowlers' injuries under scrutiny (27 August 1999)

27 August 1999

Bowlers' injuries under scrutiny

Geoff Longley

Injured New Zealand cricketers Chris Cairns and Geoff Allott will visit medical specialists today to determine their availability for the tour to India.

Cairns is to have an assessment on the injury to his right knee, which flared in the later stages of the England tour.

"It's an over-use injury and an ongoing thing and we'll just have to see where it's at," Cairns said yesterday.

The problem is the same as that which forced Cairns to miss trips to the Commonwealth Games and mini World Cup a year ago.

When he had a similar injury to the left knee several years ago, surgery and a nine month lay-off was required.

Ironically, the injury comes with Cairns bowling at his sharpest and off his longer run for the first time in recent seasons.

Cairns said that, with Simon Doull being invalided out of the tour and Geoff Allott struggling with a back problem, it placed pressure on him to perform with the new ball.

"I wasn't that confident coming back into things for the World Cup after the calf muscle injury against South Africa.

"But I just had to push myself after the first test and the confidence came back."

Fellow Canterbury pace bowler Allott also wants to make the tour to India, but the interpretation of several X-rays he had taken in London may decide his availability. Allott said there was some slight confusion in three different X-rays.

He wanted the medical team in Christchurch, which had overseen his rehabilitation from a stress fracture last season, to view the pictures.

Allott was experiencing lower back pain while bowling in the tour's latter stages, which forced him out of contention for the final matches.

He said another stress fracture was a possibility, but hoped it was just minor wear and tear and that there would be a quick recovery.

Meanwhile, Cairns set a New Zealand record for six-hitting during his memorable 80-run innings in the final cricket test against England.

Cairns launched four sixes at The Oval, which took his over-all test tally to 36. That passed the previous highest marks of fellow aggressive all-rounders, John R.Reid and Richard Hadlee, who each hit 33 sixes during their test careers.

The fourth-highest six-hitting Black Cap is Cairns's father, Lance, with 28.

However, Chris has a long way to go before challenging the world mark of 84, which belongs to West Indies master blaster Viv Richards.

Source :: The Christchurch Press (https://www.press.co.nz/)