New Zealand tailender Daniel Vettori and Sri Lankan vice-captain Marvan Atapattu were cleared of serious injuries after being rushed to hospital by ambulance after a mid-pitch collision on Monday in the second cricket test in Sri Lanka.
The pair crashed as Atapattu, fielding at mid-off, ran Vettori out with an underarm throw at the non-striker’s end to culminate New Zealand’s first innings on 305 on the third day of the rain-hit test, where only one session of play was possible during the initial two days.
Atapattu’s head slammed into Vettori’s helmet and he tottered for a few steps before slumping to the ground, while Vettori was in obvious pain with a left ankle problem.
Neither player seemed aware of the other player’s position, as they were looking at the stumps when Sri Lanka’s vice-captain attempted to stop the Kiwi batsman from stealing a single. Both players were attended on the field by doctors before being sent to hospital for scans.
Vettori’s had his leg in a temporary splint made of batting pads and was carried to the ambulance at the edge of the ground, but Atapattu had to be collected from the middle of the field.
”Hospital reports suggest both players are all right”, Sri Lankan team manager Ajit Jayasekera said.
”Both are still in pain but the X-rays have revealed no fracture,” he told reporters.
”Marvan has got two injuries, a spike has gone into his right ankle but not bones are broken,” he added.
”He also got hit behind his right ear by Vettori’s helmet … has suffered mild concussion and has been asked to rest, but I expect him to be OK in a day or two.”
New Zealand manager and former captain Jeff Crowe was relieved that his ace spinner was OK.
”The good news is Dan doesn’t have a fracture, he’s in splint back at the hotel,” Crowe said.
”He’s got some heavy swelling in his left ankle.
”It’s very fortunate that both he and Marvan have got no
breakage.”
Vettori has struggled with stress fractures of the back during the past three seasons, and Crowe appeared reluctant to push him into bowling quickly.
”We could err on the side of caution rather than push him back into action,” Crowe said. ”We’ll make an assessment of it only in the next 24 hours, depending on how this game goes.”
Jayasekera said Atapattu may be fit to bat Tuesday, but given a choice he would prefer he didn’t.
”We’re also looking at the one-day series that’s coming up in five days, where Marvan’s got to lead Sri Lanka,” he said.
The triangular one-day series starts May 10 and features Pakistan as the third team.
This is the third serious accident in recent years at Kandy’s Asgiriya Stadium. In 1999, Australian skipper Stave Waugh and paceman Jason Gillespie sustained serious facial and leg injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital in Colombo after colliding while going for a catch in a test against Sri Lanka.
Waugh had surgery on his nose and came back to play in the next test, but Gillespie was sidelined for the remainder of the series after surgery on his leg.
A similar drama unfolded again in a 2001 test match that saw West Indies batsman Brian Lara collide with Atapattu while attempting a run. Accidentally running into Atapattu, who was fielding at short-leg, Lara suffered a shoulder dislocation and a fractured finger, forcing him out of several international matches. The Lara-Atapattu accident happened during the last test match at this venue. – Sapa-AP