Bowlers are skittled by injuries

Jun 23 2009 By Jon Batham, Surrey Herald

The Panthers' skipper admitted the current injury crisis among the county's seamers had exposed an urgent need to address the imbalance in an already small squad.

Of Udal's bowlers contracted for four-day cricket, only Steven Finn and Chris Silverwood are currently fit for duty.

And with the County Championship now very much Middlesex priority, the veteran spinner would have liked to rest bowlers ahead of next week's clash with Surrey at Lords.

But, with Tim Murtagh (ham-string), Alan Richardson (back), Danny Evans (ankle) and Robbie Williams (back) all on the sick list ahead of this week's battery of Twenty20 matches - a competition in which Middlesex can no longer qualify for the knockout stages - Udal doesn't have that luxury.

He said: "It's difficult because if we had a larger pool of bowlers we could save a few for the County Championship next week which is our priority.

"The last thing we wanted to do this week was flog bowlers to death. There's a lot on Finny, while Chris (Silverwood) is still coming back from a career-threatening injury.

"We've got to look at the makeup of the squad in the winter because we don't have enough seam bowlers.

"Richardson and Silverwood are experienced bowlers but they are not going to go on forever and behind them there is a huge gap.

"Tim Murtagh is at the perfect age, but the likes of Finn, Evans and Williams are all 20."

A solution to the problem in the short term could be David Burton, the only player to emerge as a plus from the weekend's County Championship defeat to leaders Gloucestershire.

Drafted in because of injury to Evans, and only in the final 11 because Murali Kartik failed a fitness test on the first morning of the game last Thursday, Burton took 5-68.

It's an effort which may yet earn him a call-up for next Tuesday's battle with the Brown Caps.

Udal added: "Burton was an amazing bonus. We were hoping he'd take a couple of wickets and do a job, but he did the basics well and swung the ball a bit.

"I'm going to chat with Angus Fraser about what happens from here, but the boy hasn't done himself any harm that's for sure."