Lancashire: Fairbrother cracks (5 Aug 1998)

5 August 1998

Fairbrother cracks

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph

Neil Fairbrother will play for the rest of the season with a cracked ankle to help treble-chasing Lancashire.

Fairbrother returned to the Championship team against Gloucestershire at Old Trafford today after missing the last two games with an ankle ligament injury.

But he revealed that since hitting a match-winning unbeaten 82 on his comeback in the AXA League victory over Leicestershire on Sunday, he has discovered fresh damage to the ankle - sustained when he stood on the ball while fielding in the game against Worcestershire at Lytham.

"It was still giving me some pain so Lawrie Brown suggested that I should go for a second x-ray," he said. "And it showed that there is a crack.

"But it's not something that will stop me playing."

Fairbrother had originally expected to make his comeback in this Sunday's AXA fixture against Gloucester, to prove his fitness for next Tuesday's NatWest Trophy semi-final against Hampshire.

"I definitely wasn't expecting to play when I arrived at Old Trafford on Sunday," he added. "But when I did a few sprints, the ankle felt much better, and then I went for a net and it was still okay." While Fairbrother returned today Mike Watkinson, the other old head in the Lancashire team, missed out in favour of Chris Schofield and Gary Yates, as the home side won the toss and decided to bat.

He has been an ever-present in the Championship this season since missing the first game at Sussex with a shoulder injury, but since making a crucial contribution to the win at Essex with match figures of 7-57, he has only taken five wickets in 104 overs at an average of over 80, while with the bat a handy 55 against Worcestershire at Lytham was his only half century in 11 innings.

Source :: Lancashire Evening Telegraph (https://www.reednews.co.uk/let/)