Australian pacer Jason Behrendorff confirmed on Tuesday that he will undergo spinal surgery and, thus, will remain sidelined from the 2019-20 season. He will fly to New Zealand next week to get the surgery done. Moreover, the same surgery had removed James Pattinson’s career as well.
“Unfortunately I’ve had the same injury over the last few years and we’ve tried a number of things and the injury continues to return,” Behrendorff said after consultation with Western Australian Cricket Association and Cricket Australia medical staff. “After a lot of thought and discussion we’ve decided that surgery is the best opportunity to find a more permanent fix.
“I’m feeling good about the surgery, I’ve spoken to a number of Aussie and Kiwi bowlers who’ve had a similar surgery and they were all very positive about the results. This particular procedure has had good success rates in other professional pace bowlers with similar reoccurring issues.”
Last year, Benhrendorff had to sit out of the T20 Blast quarterfinal due to the back injury and was called back by Western Australia thereafter. The left-arm pacer also went on to reveal that he had discussed about the surgery with Pattinson in detail and was looking to make a comeback to red-ball cricket, a format he hadn’t participated in since 2017.
(Red-ball cricket is) probably the furthest thing from my mind at the moment,” Behrendorff told cricket.com.au. “I hope it’s not done, though, especially if I go down the path of surgery.
“We’ve seen how Patto has come back and played in the recent Ashes series, so maybe it’ll give me a chance to do that.
“I’ve spoken to Patto and I’ve also spoken to Ben Dwarshuis, who’s had a similar surgery done, and also Shane Bond. They’ve all been very complimentary with what they’ve had done and the way it’s helped them continue to play cricket. Unfortunately, I’ve had the same (injury) over the last few years and if that (surgery) is going to be an opportunity to have more of a permanent fix, I’m definitely going to look into it.”
Behrendorff has taken a total of 23 wickets in 11 ODIs and seven T20Is for Australia. His best figures in ODI cricket came in the World Cup this year when he registered fabulous bowling figures of 5/44 at Lord’s. Apart from the 29-year-old and Pattinson, New Zealand’s Shane Bond and Matt Henry are two other players who underwent the same surgery.