Western Province opener Joshua van Heerden has become the first cricketer to take the field as a like-for-like injury substitute under a new ICC-backed trial.
Van Heerden replaced Edward Moore during Western
Province’s four-day match against the Lions in Cape Town after Moore tore his left adductor muscle while fielding on the second day.
The substitution system is being trialled in South Africa’s first-class competition, as well as in Australia’s Sheffield Shield and India’s Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy. It aims to provide teams with cover when players suffer serious injuries mid-match.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, South Africa has opted for a stricter review process that includes both internal and external injuries.
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In case of an internal injury, such as a muscle tear, as in Moore’s case, the player is required to go for an Ultrasound and/or an MRI scan. The report is then sent to CSA’s chief medical officer, Dr Hashendra Ramjee and CSA’s cricket operations manager, Obakeng Sepeng. They will study the results and determine if the injury is serious enough to allow for replacement.
They will reach out to the match referee to confirm the decision.
For external injuries, such as a visible dislocation or fracture, the match referee can approve a substitute directly in consultation with Dr Ramjee and Sepeng.
The injured player can only be replaced when he can no longer participate in the match. He will have to go through a ‘stand-down period of seven days’, stated CSA’s updated playing conditions, before returning to play.
In contrast, India is trialling the system only for external injuries. In Australia, the substitutions are only allowed until stumps on day two. Also, the injured player is mandated a 12-day non-playing period.
For now, these three nations are trialling the system in multi-day cricket only.
(With PTI Inputs)
