Queensland's cricket coach questioned after bizarre injury stance – Sporting News

Sean Dillon
Australian Cricketers Association CEO Paul Marsh has spoken out against Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat coach Johan Botha’s claim that players need to be doing more when they’re injured.
Botha, who played 132 times for South Africa across all three formats, claimed that players getting paid whilst having a minor injury isn’t helping cricket in Australia.
“Players getting paid when they’re injured, I don’t think that helps Australian cricket,” Botha told Code Sports.
“If you play a game and you miss the next five (Sheffield) Shield games and then you are out for selection, you get paid all the way through… I’m not sure that’s pushing players to play when it gets a bit tough and hard.”
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“I’m not talking about stress fractures or broken fingers or things like that. I’m talking about little niggles.
“I feel we are just wanting guys to be 100 per cent fit all the time, but that doesn’t happen in Test cricket. You know, if you play the Ashes this summer, there’s going to be something that hurts. And you’ve just got to keep fronting up day after day.”
However, ACA CEO Paul Marsh has pushed back at claims that players aren’t doing their best to get back from injuries, explaining all cricketers would disagree with the sentiment.
“On the surface, this isn’t a position the ACA would support,” Marsh told AAP.
“If a worker is injured in any workplace, systems that protect them from being financially disadvantaged are commonplace… The nature of sport is that athletes are more commonly injured than other workers, but the principle is still the same.
“Our system needs to support injured players.
“The insinuation here is that some players may not be doing all they can to return to play as quickly as possible.
“As I said, I’d like to understand Johan’s perspective on this… but I’d expect the playing group would strongly disagree with this.”
Sean Dillon is a contributing Wires Writer at The Sporting News based in Sydney, Australia

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