Joe Denly’s hopes of staking a claim for a regular place in the England side suffered a major setback at the Brit Oval this morning when he was carried from the field after damaging his knee while playing football in the warm-up.
The 23-year-old will undergo a scan later today to discover the extent of the damage.
Denly collided with Owais Shah on the damp surface, his studs appeared to catch in the turf, and he immediately went to ground clutching his left knee.
After a delay of around 15 minutes, he was lifted to his feet by team-mates but was only able to hobble towards the boundary before England physio Kirk Russell and head of security Reg Dickason lifted him off his feet and up the stairs to the dressing room
Denly has a background in football having played for Charlton Athletic’s academy side during his schooldays. He also played for Whitstable Town FC as a youngster, but was eventually persuaded to concentrate on cricket at the age of 18, when he was shoved off the ball during a football match and broke his arm.
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It is not the first time an England player has been injured during the now traditional football warm-up. Matthew Prior, the England wicketkeeper, suffered a back spasm while playing football during England’s warm-up for the fourth Ashes Test at Headingley, before being passed fit to play. England collapsed to 102 all out in the first innings, going on to lose the Test in humiliating fashion.
Andrew Strauss, the England captain, admitted today’s incident had prompted the management to review whether they should continue to play football as part of their warm-up.
“The reason we play football is that it’s something the guys enjoy and it gets the blood flowing,” Strauss said. “We feel, or certainly had felt, if it’s played sensibly the chance of getting injured is very slight. Unfortunately it has happened today and if people are going to get injured playing it, we’ve got to look at it.
“Up to this stage we have never had anyone missing cricket through playing it so it’s something we’ve got to look at. You’d like to think players would be sensible enough in the warm-up not to take it too far. When we do play football we have a ‘no tackling rule’. Any injury is not ideal, you want a full squad to choose from.”
The Kent opener made an impressive debut against Ireland last week, hitting 67 on a testing pitch at Stormont against Ireland. Denly had hoped to build on his 50-over debut for England against Australia tomorrow as the first of the seven-match NatWest Series gets underway. England may opt to call up Jonathan Trott as cover.
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James Anderson has also injured himself during a football match, turning his ankle after day three of the second Test against New Zealand in 2008.
Australia will start the series without Ricky Ponting, the captain, who is due to return for the fourth match at Lord’s after spending time at home in Australia in the wake of the Ashes defeat. He will find himself without Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, who has also been granted time to return home. For the final three matches of the series, Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, will stand in for Nielsen.
Strauss returns as England captain for the NatWest Series. His outstanding form since taking on the captaincy was recognised yesterday when he was named as a nominee for ICC cricketer of the year. Graham Onions is also on the shortlist for that award, while the fast bowler is among the nominees for emerging player of the year. The awards ceremony will be held in Johannesburg on October 1.