Behrendorff's future clouded by another serious injury

Luckless fast bowler Jason Behrendorff is set for another long stint on the sidelines due to a recurrence of a serious back injury.

Behrendorff, who took nine wickets in five matches during Australia’s World Cup campaign, returned home early last month from a stint playing T20 cricket with Sussex with what was initially believed to be a minor back problem.

Speaking to cricket.com.au on September 13, Western Australia coach Adam Voges said Behrendorff would be pushing for selection in his side’s opening Marsh Cup match a week later and expected the left-armer to feature early in the season.

But further examination has brought devastating news for the 29-year-old, who has battled serious injury for most of his career.

"Unfortunately Jason Behrendorff has a recurrence of a stress fracture injury in his back," said Kade Harvey, WA’s General Manager – High Performance.

"We are working with Cricket Australia and investigating all options for Jason’s recovery.

"We will do everything we can to help Jason return to the bowling crease as quickly as possible, and an update on the situation will be provided when more information is available."

While WA have not put a timeline on Behrendorff’s return, the West Australian reported on Saturday that he’s expected to be unavailable until at least the start of the KFC Big Bash League in mid-December.

ESPNCricinfo is reporting Behrendorff will speak to Test paceman James Pattinson and former Kiwi quick Shane Bond about the radical back surgery they had in New Zealand that helped prolong their careers. Behrendorff worked closely with Bond at the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League this year, where the Kiwi great is Mumbai’s bowling coach.

Pattinson, who is just two weeks younger than Behrendorff, spoke glowingly earlier this year about the work of Christchurch surgeon Grahame Inglis, who has also operated on Kiwi players Corey Anderson and Matt Henry in the past.

Having made the decision to go under the knife in 2017 in an attempt to prolong his career, Pattinson said the support of fellow players was crucial.

"I was in constant talks with (Bond) about how he felt before the surgery leading into it and then post-surgery as well," he said.

"And Corey Anderson as well had it before me, he was another guy I shot off a few texts to and got his opinion on a few things. Having people go through that experience and be able to lean on them is great."

Behrendorff has long been touted as a future international but his career has been stalled by multiple serious injuries that have restricted him to just 18 limited-overs matches for Australia as well as 31 first-class games since his debut almost eight years ago.

Speaking after he took a match-winning haul of 5-44 against England at Lord’s during the World Cup, Behrendorff conceded he feared he would never play again at times during his career.

"Some days, especially during all the rehab periods, you think: 'Am I going to get back? Am I going to be able to get out there and play for my country?'," he said.

"It's one of those things you dream of as a kid to play cricket for Australia. Then to come here and play at Lord's, my first time here, I trained here the other day, and my first game here … it was something special."