Cricket: Grant Elliott breaks arm

Grant Elliott in action against South Africa in the Cricket World Cup. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Grant Elliott faces at least a month on the sidelines after suffering a broken arm while bowling in the nets.

Elliott was bowling to Wellington Firebirds teammate and former New Zealand allrounder Luke Woodcock, when the left-hander drilled a warm-up delivery straight back at him.

"I initially thought I could catch it but it was on to me too quickly," Elliott said. "Then it was just a matter of getting my hands up in front of my face."

Elliott will see a specialist tomorrow, but the initial diagnosis is a clean break around the wrist that should take between four to six weeks to heal.

"I was hopeful it just needed icing," the 36-year-old said. "I've had breaks before and this didn't feel like one. It's not great timing with the Georgie Pie Super Smash about to start, which I was really looking forward to."

The GPSS starts on Thursday with the Central Stags meeting Otago Volts in New Plymouth, and concludes with a December 13 grand final.

Elliott will instead have to set his sights on the international summer and in particular the highly anticipated Boxing Day ODI against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval.

"It might be touch and go but I'll know more after seeing the specialist. My hand strength feels pretty good but mobility could be the issue."

With internationals this summer against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, and the World T20 on the horizon, Elliott has plenty to look forward to. After being a fringe selection for most of the past World Cup cycle, Elliott made a rails run to grab the last place in the squad off James Neesham, then turned the No 5 position into his own with a number of heady, made-to-order batting displays.

He then proceeded to launch himself to national hero status by scoring 84 not out, including the match-winning six off Dale Steyn's penultimate ball of the match, in the semifinal against South Africa at Eden Park.

The maturity and energy he brought to his role has convinced both him and the national selectors that there is plenty of cricket left in Elliott's tank. This setback has not dimmed those thoughts.

"You get plenty of injuries as a sportsman and you've just got to take the emotion out of it and get on with it. I'll spend the next month or so doing a lot of fitness work and that's not necessarily a bad thing."

There's also a silver lining: Elliott has a feeling he's lost just enough mobility in his wrist to get out of a few domestic duties.

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