Freak hit of ball rules Voges out of county game

Australian Test batsman Adam Voges, who was rushed to hospital after being struck in the head by a ball during a county game between Middlesex and Hampshire, has been ruled out of the remaining three days of the four-day affair.

The incident occured when the Middlesex skipper, who was fielding at slips, was hit on the rear side of his head by a ball thrown to the stumps by a substitute fielder and missed by wicketkeeper John Simpson at Southampton's Rose Bowl.

The 36-year-old immediately fell down and had to be helped from the ground by physios. The right-handed batsman was then rushed to the hospital as a precaution and later ruled out of the remainder of the match.

"The feeling from physio Peter Waxman is that he's got concussion but that'll be shown up (conclusively) later (by doctors). It is sad for Adam and disappointing for us as we will have no more use out of him in this match," Middlesex managing director of cricket Angus Fraser said.

"(It was) a freak injury, as such, but I suppose you wonder with a cricket ball thrown around a field as much it is, you wonder why it doesn't happen a bit more often.

"They're hard things, cricket balls, and it's sad news for Adam and obviously disappointing for us. He wasn't feeling very well in the dressing room (after the knock) but he's been taken to hospital to get it checked over. He was feeling a lot better and seems to be coming around," he added.

Voges, who made his Test debut against the West Indies last year, has become a crucial fixure for the Kangaroos. In eight Tests last summer, Voges passed 100 four times, notching two double-centuries with an incredible average of 95.

--IANS

ajb/vt