Yorkshire CCC pace bowlers nearing the end of road to recovery

The Yorkshire duo have barely featured since joining the club last winter.

Milnes went down with a back stress fracture after the first Championship match in April, and Edwards has been out since May with a foot injury.

Yorkshire have missed their speed and skill, especially in white-ball, but boss Darren Gough has positive news.

“Both are progressing really well,” said the club’s managing director of cricket.

“They’ll come with us to York next week and bowl in practice (Yorkshire play in the One-Day Cup at York against Surrey on Tuesday, and against Hampshire on Thursday).

“In the T20 we were definitely hampered by not having those two. They were probably on paper our strongest white-ball bowlers, and they were a huge loss which upset the balance of our side.

“We ended up having to bowl bowlers in positions that we didn’t want to bowl them in. (David) Wiese ended up opening the bowling.

“It’s great that they’re on the way back, and I’d expect to see both before the end of the season.

“Edwards might sneak into the one-day stuff still - we’ll see how he progresses at York - and in Milnes’s case it will probably be the Championship.”

Milnes’s injury was particularly cruel. The 29-year-old suffered a recurrence of a lumbar stress fracture that sidelined him towards the end of last season for Kent - an injury that occurred after it had been announced that he would be joining Yorkshire on a three-year contract ahead of this season.

Milnes worked hard to get back fit, impressing on Yorkshire’s pre-season tour, and he made an immediate impact in the opening Championship match against Leicestershire at Headingley, taking four wickets in the game and making 90 runs in total (75 of them as a first innings nightwatchman).

However, he experienced discomfort while bowling the last of his 36 overs in that contest before a specialist diagnosis confirmed the worst fears.

“Milnes has been back bowling for about three weeks and he’s been going well,” added Gough.

“He played in the second team as a batter against Lancashire a couple of weeks ago, and he was signed to give us that firepower alongside (Ben) Coad and (Matty) Fisher and to give us the flexibility to rotate where necessary.

“His white-ball skills are excellent and he’s a good death bowler. He did well in the Hundred last year for the Invincibles, and teams wanted him this year even though he hadn’t been playing, so we had to tell them that he wasn’t available.”

It was initially feared that Milnes might be out for the entire season after Yorkshire announced in early May that the injury could take six months to heal. Nothing can be taken for granted even at this stage, but helped by plenty of hard work and the support of the Yorkshire backroom staff, Milnes could yet have a part to play in the final leg of the Championship campaign.

Yorkshire have four games left in that competition, starting against Derbyshire at Scarborough (September 3-6). They then face Glamorgan at Cardiff (September 10-13), Leicestershire at Grace Road (September 19-22) before finishing their season against Worcestershire at Headingley (September 26-29).

Edwards knows plenty about back stress fractures. The 28-year-old had six in his younger days which, in part, explains why he has played only 21 games across first-class, one-day and T20 cricket.

The Australian, who joined Yorkshire on an 18-month deal in February, and who does not qualify as an overseas player due to the fact he is a British passport holder, played three Championship matches in April/May before injury struck. He did well all told - Edwards himself was somewhat thrust into action due to injuries to others - with encouraging displays that augured well.

“The Edwards injury is a frustrating one because his body is in good touch,” said Gough. “It’s a foot injury - a very, very rare foot injury. Basically, he’s torn a ligament right in the archway.”

Standing 6ft 6ins, Edwards is a distinctive figure with plenty of heart. Yorkshire had been tracking him for some time, viewing him as what is commonly referred to as a “point of difference” with his pace and bounce.

“We’ve 100 per cent missed him white-ball,” said Gough.

“His height, his experience of doing that white-ball as well, against good players, we thought he would have been a handful in our white-ball side.

“He played red-ball earlier this season because of injuries, we know that, and we threw him in at the deep end and he showed signs of what we signed him for.

“But white-ball we thought he was going to be a massive player for us, and we definitely missed him alongside Milnes.”