West Australian quick Burt Cockley said he feels fortunate to have a second chance at state cricket after he hit the winning runs in WA's two-wicket Sheffield Shield win over Tasmania on Sunday.
Cockley, who was making his debut for WA, took 2-47 and 3-65 in the game and hit James Faulkner to the cover boundary to hand the Warriors the unlikely win.
Cockley said it had been a big week after he made his Ryobi Cup debut for the Warriors on Tuesday.
"Making my debut in the one-dayer, to be named in the Shield team and debut. I'm just still buzzing at the moment I can't explain the feeling at the moment," he said.
"I think this means a bit more to me with what I've been through with injuries.
"Three-and-a-half years out of the game and to be quite honest I didn't expect to get back after my leg.
"So to work hard to get back, to move here for a fresh start and to rebuild my career and to have a week like it's been and to finish the week off like today it's very satisfying."
Cockley started his career with New South Wales back in 2009 and had earned a call up to the Australian squad before he suffered stress fractures in his back.
The right arm quick then hyper-extended his knee while bowling a bouncer in grade cricket and tore his ACL.
However, the surgery to repair his ACL went wrong and the now 26-year-old wound up with a staph infection in his knee.
At one stage the doctors thought they may need to amputate his leg from the knee down.
Cockley moved to Western Australia for a fresh start last year and played his grade cricket at Midland-Guildford due to a relationship established with Simon Katich in Sydney.
The Newcastle native said the pressure of going out to bat on the fourth day in need of six runs with two wickets in hand was rendered insignificant compared to his injury struggles.
"I was thinking it's better than being in a hospital bed," he said.
"I didn't expect to bat, so when I was walking out there I was just like 'this is where you want to be. What is there to worry about? Just go out there and play cricket'."
First Posted 24 February, 2013 3:24PM AEST
