Perth Scorchers have suffered a remarkable blow to their BBL title defence with captain Ashton Turner ruled out for the rest of the tournament following surgery on his knee.Turner limped off the field after bowling one delivery against Hobart Hurricanes on Wednesday, but to start with the prognosis had sounded slightly hopeful. Then again, he underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair a meniscus tear in his correct knee and would possibly not feature again in this BBL crusade.
“The incident saw him leave the field and take no further part in the match, with subsequent scans revealing surgery used to be required,” a Scorchers commentary said. “An exact timeframe for Turner’s return will be made up our minds in due class lesson.”
Turner had been managing the knee problem all through the season and did not feature in Western Australia’s final two Sheffield Shield matches before the BBL break. It’s understood that surgery had all the time been on the cards but Scorchers had hoped to receive him through the competition.
Scorchers are now working through who will replace Turner as captain with a decision to be made before they face Melbourne Renegades at Optus Stadium on Boxing Day.
Australia wicketkeeper Josh Inglis is the official vice-captain, even if other names could also come into consideration, including allrounder Aaron Hardie, who shared leadership duties against Hurricanes after Turner went off.
Turner secured an IPL deal worth AU$178,000 with Lucknow Super Giants, who will be coached by Justin Langer, in the auction on Tuesday. That tournament is because of start around March 22.
Scorchers, who are aiming for a hat-trick of titles, are currently second in the table with two wins from three matches. Their first game of the season against Renegades in Geelong used to be deserted because of a dangerous pitch.