Surrey quick says he simply forgot to wear a box for net session; injury rules him out for start of county season
Stuart meeker after blow to the groin
Any cricketer who needs reminding about the importance of protective equipment only has to ask Surrey fast bowler Stuart Meaker.
The 27-year-old will miss the start of the county season after being struck in the groin while batting in the nets on Easter Monday.
The right-armer had forgotten to put his box on before starting the session and was struck in the unprotected area, and later required surgery.
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"I was padding up, kind of chatting to 'Stewie' (Surrey Director of Cricket Alec Stewart) while I was doing it and it was just one of those things where it slipped my mind," Meaker told ESPN Cricinfo this week.
"To be honest I didn't even think about it. It's just so natural to usually put it on, (I) just slipped up. And two balls later I was on the floor."
Meaker, who played four limited-overs matches for England in 2011 and 2012, said the full extent of the injury didn't become apparent until hours later when he was taken to hospital.
Needless to say I'm devastated about missing the start of the season. Not the most comfortable injury to sustain I can assure you. #🌰
— Stuart Meaker (@SMeaker18) March 29, 2016
He then had to wait more than six hours for surgery, which left him bed-ridden for the next five days.
"Weirdly enough ... it hurt straight away but it wasn't desperately sore, (not) any worse than when you get hit there if you do wear a box," he said.
"But later on when I found myself in A and E (Accident and Emergency) I think I might have suffered a slight aneurysm and it doubled in pain.
"Because the docs found there was a slight laceration they had to operate literally that evening."
It remains unclear just how many weeks Meaker will be out of action for, but he will certainly miss this weekend's season opener against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
Meaker's absence is another blow for Surrey and their new coach Michael Di Venuto, who left his post as Australia's batting coach last month.
The Oval-based side are looking to stay in the top division of the County Championship after winning promotion last season but will start their campaign without Meaker as well as fellow quick Jade Dernbach and allrounder Zafar Ansari.
But they will be boosted by the return of England opener Jason Roy, fresh from his excellent World T20 campaign, for the clash against Nottinghamshire, who will be without England quick Stuart Broad and Roy's England opening partner Alex Hales.