Hodge cops one in the face

Victorian batsman Brad Hodge feared he had suffered a broken cheekbone after being struck a vicious blow in the face while fielding in the Bushrangers' Pura Cup match against South Australia here today.

Hodge sent a major scare into the Victorian camp when he collapsed at third slip with his face bloodied after failing to pick up a regulation edge from Redbacks opener Ben Johnson.

After having a 5cm gash under his right eye stitched in the rooms, Hodge was taken to hospital where X-rays revealed no structural damage and he will bat sometime during Victoria's first innings tomorrow.

Hodge's error turned into a costly miss for the Victorians as Johnson, on 23 at the time, went on to carry his bat in making 138 not out in the Redbacks' first innings of 229.

But it could have had far more serious implications for Hodge.

Considered an outside chance of forcing his way into the Australian side for the upcoming tri series against New Zealand and South Africa, Hodge intially feared he had suffered a potentially season-ending injury.

"It could have been a lot worse," Hodge admitted after escaping with a black eye and headache to go with the stitches.

"I knew it got me somewhere around the eye and I thought with the way the eye is structured, I might have chipped a bone under the eye."

Relieved at not having sustained a serious injury, Hodge was at a loss as to how he came to lose sight of the ball.

One of Victoria's best slip fielders, he had already taken a more difficult chance at third slip to remove opener Jeff Vaughan.

He admitted he saw Johnson's edge initially fly off the bat but then lost the ball in transit.

"I'm not sure what happened. All I know is I found myself on the ground," he said.

"I just thought I was going to catch it once I saw it (the edge) off the bat."