Cricketer forgets protective box, pays painful price

If you were to consult the internet and watch the endless stream of videos, you would more than likely come to the conclusion that when a person gets hit in the groin, it is hard not to laugh.

If you consult English county cricketer Stuart Meaker however, you will surely come to a much more sinister deduction.

The Surrey fast bowler has been ruled out of the start of the county season after he was struck in the nether regions during a practice session over the Easter weekend. And the crucial blow - the 27-year-old had forgotten to wear his all-important box.

The piece of protective equipment allegedly slipped Meaker's mind as he was chatting to a coach while padding up. Needless to say it is something he won't ever be forgetting again.

"I was padding up, kind of chatting to 'Stewie' (Surrey Director of Cricket Alec Stewart) while I was doing it and it was just one of those things where it slipped my mind," Meaker told ESPN Cricinfo.

"To be honest I didn't even think about it. It's just so natural to usually put it on, (I) just slipped up. And two balls later I was on the floor."

A batsman forgetting his box is like a scuba diver forgetting to put air in their tank - the results promise to be disastrous.

Unfortunately for Meaker, he found that out the hard way.

After being rushed off to the emergency room later in the day, the Brit then endured a six-hour wait to have surgery on a "lacerated" area of the groin.

"Weirdly enough... it hurt straight away but it wasn't desperately sore, (not) any worse than when you get hit there if you do wear a box," he said.

"But later on when I found myself in A and E (Accident and Emergency) I think I might have suffered a slight aneurysm and it doubled in pain.

"Because the docs found there was a slight laceration they had to operate literally that evening."

After five days in bed, Meaker is back up and moving, but it is uncertain as to how long the former England ODI bowler will be forced to sit on the sidelines.

- news.com.au