New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson is a doubtful proposition for the forthcoming Champions Trophy beginning on February 19, having sustained a hamstring injury while playing the ILT20 tournament. The injury was diagnosed via scanning to determine its severity. Lockie leads the Desert Vipers in their Instagram Qualifier One match against Dubai Capitals; unfortunately, he sustained the injury while bowling in the last over and was unable to complete his four overs.
The results will be published for the scans, and as that is still pending, according to Gary Stead, it is hard to ascertain if Lockie will be fit to face Pakistan and South Africa in the tri-series or turn out for the ICC mega-event. Gary went on to disclose that the radiologist has not yet given them feedback regarding the nature of the injury, which, once they do, will lead to the team administration making an urgent decision on whether Lockie will travel to Pakistan.
“Lockie had a scan yesterday [Thursday] in the UAE. We’ve got the images here and [we are] waiting for our radiologist to give us a report on the extent of it. Small hamstring injury, by the look of it, so we’re just waiting on a timeline of advice around that before we make a decision on whether Lockie travels here [Pakistan] or whether we do have to replace him for the Champions Trophy,” said Stead ahead of the tri-series opener.
Notably, the Vipers have been appropriately watching their pacers’ workloads during the tournament. Ferguson played in eight of the 12 games contested. To illustrate this, the Director of Cricket Tom Moody had previously indicated that they had given all the bowlers a rest, as physical and mental fatigue are crucial factors in modern-day cricket.
“Among others we have done our best to rotate the fast bowlers in an effort to manage the players. Lockie Ferguson, Mohammad Amir, and Luke Wood have all enjoyed a rest day in what could somewhat be called spa treatments. Yes, it is a really tough schedule, with an element of physical fatigue. More importantly, there has been quite a lot of mental fatigue,” Moody said on the Vipers Voices podcast in January.
