Chris Rogers vital to Australian plans says Darren Lehmann, due to local knowled

The Ashes 2015: Chris Rogers vital to Australian plans says Darren Lehmann, due to local knowledge
1 HOUR AGO JULY 20, 2015 8:03PM

Darren Lehmann admits losing English specialist Chris Rogers for any stretch of time would serve as a crushing blow to Australia’s Ashes campaign.
Rogers, who is being monitored for concussion-like symptoms, might be likely to retire at the end of this series, but for the next five weeks there are few more critical players in Australian cricket than the 37-year-old veteran.

In a cricketing sense, Australia can’t afford to lose him.
He’s scored 95, 173 and 49 retired hurt to lead from the front in the most outstanding form of his Test career.
But that burning ambition to hold onto the Urn on UK soil cannot come at a risk to his long-term health.
Rogers retired hurt on the morning of the four day at Lord’s following dizziness.

That’s the dilemma Australia’s medical staff are working through as they try to determine whether it’s safe for Rogers to take the field in the next Test in nine days time, or if at all ever again, after he was hit in the head with a bouncer before experiencing dizzy spells two full days later at Lord’s.
He is being assessed again for concussion on Monday afternoon (UK time) in London and he will also receive independent assessment outside of the Australian medical staff.
Rogers openly admitted before the tour started that he was troubled by potential impacts to his wellbeing, after being ruled out of two Tests in the West Indies last month due to concussion.

Coach Lehmann said that Rogers was in a good headspace about the alarming events that occurred on day four, where he became unsteady on his feet just two overs into the day after facing just four balls without incident.

Lehmann said he would wait on a medical update but made it clear Rogers was a key man who would be missed enormously if ruled out for any length of time.
“He’s all right, we’ll just have to wait and see what the medical staff come up with,” he said, after it emerged Australia were hopeful the dizziness was unrelated to the past head knocks.
“He’s important for a period of time (this Ashes series).
“He knows these conditions so well. He loves England and he helps our batters out, that’s the most pleasing thing.
“He helps our batters and bowlers about conditions, for example at Lord’s with all the angles you’ve got to lay and the slope.


“He knows them so well so he’s a very important part of this tour.”
After Rogers was busted trying to sell tickets to the Lord’s Test improperly through a company he had founded, Lehmann joked about his stoic opener’s future as a tour host.
Although he has his finger’s crossed that’s not what Rogers will be restricted to for the rest of this campaign.
“I think he’s made it clear he’s not going to come on the next Ashes tour,” said Lehmann.
“Although he’d probably like to … as a tour host.
“At the end of the day it’s a different scenario (suspected to not be related to past head knocks), so we’ll wait for the doctors and see where we go from there.”