Whilst injuries are part and parcel of the game for international cricketers, it is much worse when they are self-inflicted, interrupting careers and putting undue pressure on other team mates. This week, has seen two such incidents which, bizarrely, almost match each other.
Earlier in the week came news that Australia’s Mitchell Marsh will miss the start of his country’s test summer after punching a wall and breaking his bowling hand.
Playing for Western Australia against Tasmania in a Sheffield Shield match last Sunday, the incident came after Marsh was dismissed from the crease. So frustrated was he with his own performance that, when he got back to the dressing room, Marsh, who was wearing his gloves at the time, punched the wall.
In the process he broke his right hand, and will be out for four to six weeks, meaning he will almost certainly miss Australia’s first Test of the home summer against Pakistan which starts on 21 November.
To add insult to injury, Marsh had just regained his test place after taking 5 – 46 against England in the final match of the Ashes series.
And now the latest man to join Marsh on the injury side lines is South African opening batsman Aiden Markram, who hurt himself in a remarkably similar fashion.
In his case the incident took place after he was dismissed in the second innings of the second test against India in Pune. Frustrated with his own performance, he punched a solid object in the changing rooms, and sustained a wrist injury which has already ruled him out of the Third Test in Ranchi.
Markram has already flown home to South Africa foe further treatment, bringing a premature end to what had been a mixed tour for the 25 year old, who has been tipped as a future captain of his country. He scored a fine century in a practice match for South Africa A against India A, but was unable to reproduce that form in the test series. He scored 5 and 39 in the First Test in Visakhapatnam, and was dismissed for a pair in the second.
Both Marsh and Markram are suitably contrite about what they have done. Marsh said “”Sometimes you get beaten, sometimes you get out, and you can’t be punching walls. It’s a good lesson for me, hopefully it’s a good lesson for other people as well.”
Markram almost echoed his words saying “We understand in sport that emotions run high and sometimes the frustration gets the better of you, as it did for me, but…that’s no excuse.
“I’ve taken full responsibility for it, I have apologised to the team, and, hopefully I can make it up to them and the people of South Africa soon”.
Club cricketers should take note. If they are angry at getting dismissed this weekend, they should stay away from inanimate objects when choosing to vent their frustrations.
