Thompson: "I couldn't let the team down"

Ewen Thompson, the 21-year-old Central Districts left-arm bowler, joined the small ranks of one-armed cricketers when he batted one-handed against Auckland on the third day of their State Championship four-day match on the Eden Park Outer Oval today.

Thompson suffered a broken bone in his right forearm when batting on Monday, and the forecast seemed to be that while he might bowl again in the match batting was out of the question.

As the Central Districts second innings wickets fell steadily today Thompson sat on the sideline, feeling more than one kind of pain.

"Then I decided I owed it to the team to try and get some runs at the end," said Thompson, "so I had a go.

"I felt a bit awkward, but managed to get some runs (in fact 18 from 14 balls in a 26-run last-wicket stand with Michael Mason)."

Thompson even managed two fours and a sweetly timed one-handed reverse sweep to the leg-spin bowling of Brooke Walker. He confessed that even batted one-handed gave him twinges of pain.

However, later in the day, Thompson joined the CD bowling as they tried to slow Auckland's growingly confident pursuit of 210 runs for victory, but could not bear the pain.

"It really hurt, and I could not really get my right arm up in its normal bowling position, so it was not much use."

Thompson managed only three overs and is now facing four weeks with the arm in plaster, and perhaps some coaching work in Wairarapa, before he can consider re-starting his cricketing heroics.