Renegades opener Martin Guptill has defended the Marvel Stadium surface after scans confirmed an ACL rupture has ended skipper Nic Maddinson’s BBL season.
Maddinson chased down a ball on Sunday against the Scorchers and turned to throw it back to the keeper, only to collapse with a non-contact injury that required the medi-cab to take him from the field.
The outfield at Marvel was sandy in patches with the ball often pulling up before the boundary rope, although the part of the field near Maddinson didn’t appear to be affected.
It’s the second serious injury at the venue after Thunder skipper Jason Sangha broke his collarbone when he landed awkwardly while trying to field the ball.
Guptill said Maddinson was a “massive loss” ahead of Tuesday’s Melbourne derby against the Stars at the MCG.
“It’s always tough when you lose your captain to any sort of injury,” the New Zealand veteran said minutes before the bad news was confirmed.
“I know he’s gutted for whatever the outcome. It sucks for him, but whoever takes over as captain is going to do a great job.
“It’s something that he’s probably done hundreds of times in his career. I don’t know what it was. It was an off day for the knee and it’s unfortunate. It sucks.
“In patches (the surface) was (patchy) but for the most part it was pretty good. I didn’t actually field out where he was where he went down, so I’m not sure about that side.”
The Renegades and Cricket Victoria will spend the next few days devising a rehab plan for Maddinson who won’t be back until next summer.
“Our thoughts are with Nic and we will continue to support him as he works through his recovery,” Melbourne Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said.
“Nic has been a fantastic leader for our team since taking over the captaincy last season and he will continue to play a big role in this team moving forward.”
Guptill said that Aaron Finch was a chance to take over as captain and could also be promoted to the top of the order in place of Maddinson.
The Renegades need a spark after dropping their past four games that has undone their blistering start to the season that saw them win three on the trot.
They won’t need added motivation against a Stars side that stunned the Strikers on New Year’s Eve and is looking forward to returning to the MCG after several matches on the road.
“We had a tough little stint on the road through Christmas and made the trip all the way over to Perth, and then we managed to put it all together in front of a good crowd in Adelaide,” Stars quick Trent Boult said ahead of the derby.
“We all understand that T20 cricket is one of the games that doesn’t take much to find a bit of rhythm and momentum, so we’re hoping it’s the start of that for us.”