Weston's cricket season on ice

Tim Weston's first-class cricket campaign has started the same way as last season finished.

The New Plymouth-based Central Districts middle-order batsman is carrying the drinks in the side's season opener in Napier after being ruled out with a thumb injury.

Weston missed the final part of last summer's competition, including Central Districts' four-day championship final against Auckland, with a broken hand. It was the second occasion over the summer he had broken a bone in his hand.

"I sprained my thumb fielding on the first day of the trial game against Auckland last week," Weston said from Napier yesterday. "I dived to field a ball and my thumb dug into the ground."

The injury has sidelined Weston since. He said his recent spate of injuries was just part and parcel of playing professional sport.

"Impact blows like that, they're things you can't really control."

Weston made the call to pull out of the Napier match after taking a small part in a net practice on Monday.

"I couldn't grip the bat properly and had a lot of jarring pain," he said, adding with a big summer of cricket ahead it was a precautionary decision.

Weston is optimistic he will be available to play the second round of the four-dayers against Northern Districts in Whangarei starting on Tuesday.

"I just see it as having an extra week off to work hard on my fitness and strength training and I'll start hitting balls a bit maybe tomorrow or Friday, building towards Tuesday's game.

"I'm sure I'll be back for that one."

Weston made his debut for Central Districts in the 2005-06 season and has now played 28 first-class games for the major association, scoring 1627 runs at an average of 41.71.

During the winter, Weston spent three months doing relief teaching at Wellington College before heading overseas.

Weston caught up with his older brother, Johnny, and the pair spent a month holidaying in Greece and Turkey before returning home to prepare for the cricket season. Weston spent two months in Auckland flatting with Central Districts wicketkeeper-batsman Bevan Griggs and trained in the indoor centre at Eden Park.

Weston has played in two Taranaki premier cricket club matches for New Plymouth Old Boys so far this season, with a top score of 36, and played the first trial match involving Central Districts.

"I got nicked out for five in the first innings and run out second ball in the second innings, so I never got in the groove. But I still think I'm hitting the ball really well and now it's just a matter of getting out on the field and carrying on my form from the back end of last season."