It was the news which sent a shiver down the spine. Trent Boult is returning home early from the tour of England with a back stress problem. While it is still to be full diagnosed, the S word is a cricket nightmare.
Legions of fast bowlers have had their careers damaged by stress fractures, although there are a few recoveries. New Zealand has a particularly bad history in this regard and it would be a disaster if the Boult-Tim Southee partnership cannot flourish. We take a quick look at some previous cases.
Dennis Lillee
The Good News. The legendary Aussie continued for a decade after suffering major problems in 1973. The administration abandoned him, but he was lucky in finding a physical instructor from his old school who came to the rescue. His torso was in laster for six weeks, and he underwent a ground breaking rehab programme during an 18 month hiatus. With a remodelled action, Lillee returned better than ever.
Waqar Younis
More good news. Injuries took a toll over time but the Pakistani legend did come back from stress fractures early in his career to bowl brilliantly and still with pace.
Pat Cummins
The Bad News. Decades on from the Lillee experiment, all the resources of Australian cricket still can't save a young bowler from the curse. Cummins had a terrific test debut as an 18-year-old before stress fractures struck, laying him low for three years. Lillee reckoned Cummins tried to hard in big matches, sacrificing technique for damaging grunt. Made the World Cup but suffered a side strain.
