Basingstoke & North Hants skipper Mitchell Stokes fears he could miss the start of the Southern Premier League cricket season after sustaining a left knee injury in a local soccer cup semi-final.
Stokes, who has succeeded Chris Froud as captain, was playing for Bounty United against Tron in a Basingstoke Junior B Cup semi-final on the 3G surface at the Everest Health & Leisure Club when the injury occurred.
“I lobbed their goalie in a 50-50 challenge, and was simultaneously hit by a defender and the goalkeeper. It spun me round 360 degrees.
“There was immediate pain upon impact and, whilst I’d never been injured before, I knew immediately there was something wrong,” he explained.
Stokes, 28, has been on crutches for the past fortnight and is due to revisit hospital on Monday, when he should know the extent of his knee injury.
“I’ve been immobilised for a fortnight and am becoming a nightmare to live with because I can’t do anything active,” he added.
To add to Stokes’s woe, Bounty United lost their cup semi-final 6-2.
But while Stokes awaits news of his untimely injury, Basingstoke have announced the signing of their overseas player for the upcoming SPL1 season.
He is 22-year old Victorian Ben Julin, a young batting all rounder currently playing first grade country cricket in Gippsland (east of Melbourne) in the Traralgon District Cricket Association for CATS CC.
Julin arrives at May’s Bounty in late April and will join Old Basing all-rounder Dan Belcher, Hartley Wintney’s Chris Jolly and the returning Matt King for the pre-season friendlies.
Stokes, who has succeeded Chris Froud as captain, was playing for Bounty United against Tron in a Basingstoke Junior B Cup semi-final on the 3G surface at the Everest Health & Leisure Club when the injury occurred.
“I lobbed their goalie in a 50-50 challenge, and was simultaneously hit by a defender and the goalkeeper. It spun me round 360 degrees.
“There was immediate pain upon impact and, whilst I’d never been injured before, I knew immediately there was something wrong,” he explained.
Stokes, 28, has been on crutches for the past fortnight and is due to revisit hospital on Monday, when he should know the extent of his knee injury.
“I’ve been immobilised for a fortnight and am becoming a nightmare to live with because I can’t do anything active,” he added.
To add to Stokes’s woe, Bounty United lost their cup semi-final 6-2.
But while Stokes awaits news of his untimely injury, Basingstoke have announced the signing of their overseas player for the upcoming SPL1 season.
He is 22-year old Victorian Ben Julin, a young batting all rounder currently playing first grade country cricket in Gippsland (east of Melbourne) in the Traralgon District Cricket Association for CATS CC.
Julin arrives at May’s Bounty in late April and will join Old Basing all-rounder Dan Belcher, Hartley Wintney’s Chris Jolly and the returning Matt King for the pre-season friendlies.
