TAREE West strike bowler Ryan Williams has a broken hand and is out of the Mid North Coast Premier League cricket competition indefinitely.
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Williams sustained the injury taking the second wicket of his hat-trick during Taree West’ s stunning win over Wingham last week at the Johnny Martin Oval.
“He went low to take the catch to get Brock (Hynes) out,’’ Taree West skipper Josh Meldrum said.
“That’s when he broke a bone in his hand.
“It didn’t worry him at the time, but a bit later he knew there was something wrong and he had x-rays to confirm the break.’’
Williams and Jonathon Paff smashed through the Wingham batting, dismissing them for 20, the club’s second lowest ever score in first grade. Paff and Williams both finished with five wickets.
Williams will miss Saturday's game against Kempsey side Nulla at Andrews Reserve, Wauchope. Meldrum concedes he isn’t sure when Williams will return.
“We’re hoping only two or three matches – he’s hoping to be able to bowl using a brace on his hand – although be probably won’t be able to bat,’’ Meldrum said.
Shane Manny will slot into the side to replace Williams.
“He came with Ryan to us from Wingham,’’ Meldrum explained.
“Shane’s not as quick as Ryan, but he’s handy.’’
The win over Wingham was Taree West's first for the season. Meldrums admits it was a critical result.
"If we’d lost that we could have been in a bit of trouble, but we’re looking alright now,’’ he said.
However, Meldrum said it is now time for the batsmen to do their bit. While wickets tumbled last week, with Taree West making just 136, Meldrum said there was nothing too wrong with the wicket. He said it was generally poor batting.
Manny for Williams will be the only change to the side. Meldrum said neither Ben Jonas or Dean Mills will be available this match.
Jonas lives in Penrith so he will only be available sporadically. However, Meldrum expects to have Mills back on a more regular basis after Christmas.
Meldrum admits he ‘doesn’t have a clue’ about the makeup of Nulla’s side.
“That’s half the fun with this competition,’’ he laughed.
The ground will also be something of a mystery for Taree West.
“I’ve never played at Wauchope and I don’t think too many of our players would have,’’ he said.
“Ryan (Williams) might have played a bit of rep cricket there, so he can give us a bit of an idea what to expect.’’
Taree West currently sits in fifth place on 16 points.
Nulla holds down seventh place on 12.