Young all-rounders Mark Adair and Aaron Thomason are expected to be fit and firing for the start of next season following a winter’s rest and rehab to recover from stress-fractures.
Twenty-year-old Adair and 19-year-old Thomason, two seam-bowling all-rounders who are part of the emerging crop of talent at Edgbaston, both had their input last season restricted by stress-fractures in their backs.
As with the recovery from any stress fracture, the rehab is very important and then hopefully after Christmas they will step up cricket-specific activities.
Gerhard Mostert
Both will continue with rehab before Christmas then resume cricket-specific work after the New Year with a view to challenging for first-team places at the start of the 2017 season.
“Aaron had an operation on his back in September and Mark’s problem has been treated with injections,” said Bears physio Gerhard Mostert. “As with the recovery from any stress fracture, the rehab is very important and then hopefully after Christmas they will step up cricket-specific activities.
“They should both be ready to build up their work during pre-season and then be fully fit for the start of the season.”
Meanwhile, newly-signed fast-bowler Olly Stone is “progressing really well” along the long path of his recovery from knee surgery.
The 23-year-old, who has joined the Bears from Northamptonshire, suffered a freak injury last June when he landed awkwardly after celebrating taking a wicket for the east Midlands county.
Stone suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and associated torn cartilages, a complex injury which required surgery likely to sideline him for between nine to 12 months. Four and a half months into his recovery, the signs are that he will return within that timescale.
“Olly is progressing really well,” said Mostert. “He is coming in to see me three or four times a week, as he will throughout the winter, and he is dealing with the situation very well. Long-term injury is always difficult for a cricketer but you have to be positive and work hard, at the same being patient. Olly’s attitude has been spot-on and there is no reason he shouldn’t make a full recovery and hopefully take a lot of wickets for the Bears.”
Beyond the Boundary
An exclusive, in-depth interview with Olly Stone will be among features in the new edition of Beyond the Boundary, out mid-November.
