Scott Boland's debut spell in county cricket may be in jeopardy due to a heel injury that resurfaced during his first game for Durham.
Boland bowled 13 overs without taking any wickets in the first innings of their high-scoring draw against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. He did not bowl after the first day of the match due to the injury. Durham captain Scott Borthwick initially suggested that Boland's absence was precautionary, but it has since been revealed that he is suffering from plantar fasciitis, a common heel injury among fast bowlers.
Boland's plantar fasciitis caused him to arrive late in England, causing him to miss Durham's first game. As a result, he has been left out of Durham's 13-man squad for their third-round fixture against Worcestershire, which begins on Friday at Kidderminster.
The club said in a statement:
"Having had a scan, [Boland] is being assessed by the Durham Cricket medical team and Cricket Australia. A further update will follow on this in due course."
Initial inquiries have been made regarding potential replacements in case he is unable to play for an extended period.
Boland is contracted to play for Durham until the end of July, covering both the County Championship and the T20 Blast. However, he is centrally contracted to Cricket Australia, despite not playing a Test since last year's Ashes. As a result, CA's medical staff will monitor his workload throughout his time in England and work with Durham on Boland's recovery after this latest issue. The aim is to ensure that he can play as much cricket as possible.
At the beginning of the Sheffield Shield season, he was rested with the expectation that Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc would also be rested during Australia's series against Pakistan, West Indies, and New Zealand. However, all three players ended up playing in all seven matches, resulting in Boland having a relatively quiet summer with only six Shield games, four Marsh Cup appearances, and three BBL matches.
CA is still managing their centrally contracted bowlers, and they recently withdrew newly elevated Queensland quick Xavier Bartlett from a stint in the Championship with Kent just before the season started. It is understood that they were happy for him to play in the Blast.
There has been concern over the reduction of Nathan Lyon's time with Lancashire. He had originally signed up to play the full season across all three formats, but this was later reduced to only seven red-ball matches. The decision was made after a discussion between Lyon and Australia's selectors regarding his workload over the next 18 months.