Injured quick Bennett faces surgery

Relevant offers

Cricket

Ponting being self-indulgent says Geoff Lawson South African fight back stuns Black Caps Intriguing move behind stumps for Wellington Black Caps gutted as wheels fall off chase Modern batsmen hitting further and further White Ferns fall short in Auckland Pietersen ton as England whitewash Pakistan Sri Lanka beat India in drama-filled ODI T20 decider like 'a final' says AB de Villiers Southee should save his breath for the bowling

Injured Black Caps fast bowler Hamish Bennett faces major back surgery to fix a horror injury that's kept him out of the game for a year already.

A lower back injury has kept the 24-year-old out of nearly all cricket since last March's World Cup, but the start of next summer is now the big quick's goal.

"It hasn't been ideal but I just have to stay positive; there's not much more I can do, is there? I can't change it so I just have to worry about my recovery and do what I can to get fit again."

An old stress fracture in his lower back from when he was younger had not healed and as the gap in the bone spread, it created more pressure on a nerve, he said.

According to New Zealand Cricket medical director Ian Murphy, after Bennett had had months of rest, then rehab and monitored bowling loads, the best solution was surgery.

"An orthopaedic spine surgeon has recommended that the best management at this stage would be to undergo surgery to attempt to alleviate the pressure on the nerve."

Although his injury was in the lower back, Bennett said he felt pain down his left side in the lower half of his body and it had taken him days to recover from some bowling sessions.

He will have repair surgery on February 27 with Grahame Inglis – the same surgeon that operated on quick bowler Shane Bond and Canterbury all-rounder Andrew Ellis.

Bennett said he would talk to both about their experiences, but there would be no rush to his recovery and no quick fixes sought.

"By the time I get back, it will have been about 18 months so I don't want to risk any more time off," he said.

He had been hoping to be available for the Black Caps' mid-year tour of the West Indies and the rest of what will be a busy year, but his goals are now much simpler.

He suffered the original injury during the World Cup game against Sri Lanka in India last March when he was seen as a potential new ball option in all three forms of the game.

Since it happened, New Zealand's quick bowling stocks have drastically improved. In Bennett's favour is the impending retirement of Black Caps go-to man Chris Martin.

- © Fairfax NZ News