Senior Tiger Jeremy Burgess beats injury woes to return

Co-captain Jeremy Burgess has overcome a leg haematoma and is expected to return for the Tigers' Twenty20 double-header on Saturday.

The 37-year-old blasted a devastating 146-run total - albeit in division three - in his return to cricket last week.

With match fitness now in check, Burgess is determined to help Merrivale correct its stuttering early-season form with Twenty20 success.

"It was good in that my leg pulled up well from it," he said.

"It's a hard one, dropping back to the threes. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it because it can be good or bad for your cricket.

"I spoke to Stapes (co-captain Josh Stapleton) about it and I decided I probably needed some match fitness.

"But I pulled up well and now the swelling from the haematoma has gone down a bit. I had it drained last week which has helped too."

Burgess said his absence had opened the door for young talent to stand up.

"When a coach or senior player is out of the side it can be hard to find a replacement," he said.

"But we have good juniors and they've stepped up to fill that hole that's been there with me out.

"Wins-wise, it's looks like we've gone backwards from last year but development-wise, we've moved forward well."

But are eighth-placed Merrivale suited to short-form cricket? Burgess initially didn't think so, but has changed his tune.

"I think you have a bit of a license to free yourself up a little bit," he said.

"We're going in thinking if we get a few wins, our season is still alive.

"It's still an uphill battle, but you really never know what could happen."

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