Chris Rogers appears set to play in the third Ashes Test despite the dizzy spell that forced him to retire hurt in the second innings at Lord’s and he expects to be the target of England’s bowlers.
As he sat disorientated between overs at Lord’s, Rogers told his opening partner David Warner that he had seen the grandstand move before being led off the ground by Australia’s medical staff.
Rogers missed two Tests against West Indies last month after suffering concussion and was hit on the helmet by a short ball from James Anderson in his first-innings 173 in the 405-run win over England. But tests cleared him of concussion this time, pointing instead to a balance problem in his inner ear.
He came through a testing net session at Edgbaston on Monday but the Australia opener is aware that England will be gunning for him on what is expected to be a fast, hard surface following Warwickshire’s decision to use lights once employed for growing cannabis to try ensure that the surface is ready following heavy rain.
“I’m not stupid,” he said, “I know they’ll come even harder at me, but who knows? It looks like a green wicket so, if they’re bowling short, that may work well for me. They’ve still got to pitch it up at some stage but I know full well they’re going to come hard, that’s part and parcel of opening the batting.”
The opener has spoken frankly about his Lord’s experience but believes he is ready to return to the middle having sat out the rain-affected draw against Derbyshire. He told Cricinfo: “I was probably a little bit dubious – and initially after the Test I thought it might be a little bit difficult. But I felt pretty good over the last few days and see no reason at the moment not to play.”
The worrying dizzy spell is nonetheless still at the forefront of his mind. “It just looked like it [the stand] was going from left to right and almost like my eyes were jumping – a really bizarre sensation and kind of scary,” Rogers added.
“I wouldn’t have been able to continue, that’s why I went off. It was a really weird sensation. I’ve never had it before and I must admit for the first few days I thought there was something seriously wrong. But after all the tests and seeing the specialists, they cleared me of any serious damage. It’s still a bit of a day-by-day basis but so far, so good. I’m pretty positive and desperately want to be a part of this.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com
