Joshua van Heerden, Western Province’s top batter, has become the first like-for-like injury replacement.
Van Heerden replaced Edward Moore in a CSA 4-Day Series Division 1 game against the Lions, becoming the first substitute under cricket’s new trial system. He sustained a left adductor tear (inner thigh muscle) while fielding on Day 2 of the match at Newlands in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, the new substitutes trial is part of an effort launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and is also taking place in Australia (Sheffield Shield) and India (Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy). The rule is aimed at finding a remedy for teams that lose players to catastrophic injuries during a multi-day game.
South Africa considers both internal and exterior ailments when substituting players, similar to the technique used in Australia. For the time being, India has focused solely on external injuries.
According to the procedure in South Africa, in the event of an internal injury, the player must undergo an ultrasound and/or an MRI scan. The report is then emailed to CSA’s chief medical officer, Dr Hashendra Ramjee, and CSA’s cricket operations manager, Obakeng Sepeng, both of whom have been tasked with reviewing the findings. The couple then has the responsibility of contacting the match referee to request confirmation.
India
