Gillespie's plight a reminder that Kiwis not alone in injury wars

One of the most common remarks made whenever a New Zealand cricketer gets injured is that misfortune never seems to hit other countries in the way it hits New Zealanders.

While it might seem that the fates have conspired against New Zealand in these matters the truth is, of course, a little different.

New Zealand's lack of playing numbers, by comparison to most other countries, leaves it vulnerable to the loss of its key players to injury.

But when considering the effects on other countries, ponder the plight of Australia's Jason Gillespie.

This man has to be a case of a walking medical textbook on sports-related injuries if ever there was.

His latest mishap occurred during the just-completed Test match in Colombo against Pakistan.

He tore a calf muscle and now faces the prospect of missing the first Test in the Ashes series at Brisbane starting on November 7.

Gillespie, you will recall from last summer, was the one bowler capable of getting right in among the Kiwi batsmen during that result-less series.

Fortunately for the Australians, they have a production line of bowlers well capable of ensuring the English have no respite whoever they face in Brisbane.

But try this for a list of injury complaints, three foot injuries, stress fractures in the back, a shoulder injury, a groin injury, a side injury, another back injury, a crook hamstring and never to be forgotten, the broken leg he suffered during his horrific collision with Steve Waugh in Sri Lanka in 1999.

All of these have afflicted Gillespie since 1997.

Yet in that time, he has still managed to play 34 Tests and take 126 wickets at the healthy average of 26.36.

While New Zealand bowlers might have suffered more debilitating and career-ending injuries, most notably Geoff Allott and Dion Nash, the fact remains they are not alone in the wear and tear they suffer, and nor is New Zealand alone with the problems of fast bowler breakdown syndrome.