Hurricanes captain Rachel Priest started WBBL with a blazing ton, but has since been battling through the pain of a badly broken finger
How Priest batted through WBBL|07 with broken finger
Rachel Priest has revealed she has barely been able to train throughout Weber WBBL as she plays on through the pain of a broken index finger for the Hobart Hurricanes.
Hurricanes captain Priest's tough WBBL season ended on a disappointing note on Saturday as she failed to register a run for a second consecutive series, a stark contrast to the blazing hundred she hit at the start of the tournament.
It was just a week after she stroked that unbeaten century against Melbourne Stars that disaster struck, Priest's finger broken after she was struck on the gloves while keeping wicket to the tournament's fastest bowler Tayla Vlaeminck.
The dynamic New Zealander was initially unsure whether she could play on, but wanted to remain at the helm of the club and at the top of the order to help a new-look line-up in their bid to return to finals for the first time since WBBL|02.
Hobart would not have been able to source an overseas replacement had she pulled out, given Australia's quarantine requirements.
Priest said she had been having regular scans throughout the tournament to ensure the digit was not suffering further damage.
"When I first did it, I basically knew straightaway it was broken, I just had to find out how bad the break was," Priest told cricket.com.au.
"We spoke to the doctor and she said it was all good to keep playing if I wanted to and if I was able to.
"We've been managing it by getting x-rays and checking that the bone isn't moving around.
"It's just a pain thing - I haven't done a whole heap of training since I did it, because I just can't really get through it to be honest, so I've basically have just been saving myself for the games.
"I've been really lucky so far that I haven't had another serious hit on it, and I think it just makes me watch the ball even harder because I know I have to catch it really carefully."
Speaking on The Scoop podcast last week, former Australia leg-spinner Kristen Beams praised the New Zealander's grit and determination.
"I don't even know how she holds a bat," Beams said. "She is without a doubt the grittiest player in the competition right now."
But the injury has taken a toll, with Priest struggling to consistently make an impact at the top of the order through the tournament.
She fought through the pain to hit a gritty half-century against Perth Scorchers at the WACA Ground, but her next highest score sine the injury was 27, with a total of 262 runs from 13 innings in WBBL|07. She could not add to that tally in the final two matches in Mackay, twice dismissed for naught.
"I've got a serious brace thing that I am supposed to wear full-time, obviously it comes off in games, but it holds my finger in the right spot for it to heal hopefully on its own," Priest said.
"The break is into the joint which isn't ideal, so that's another factor that we're just keeping an eye on … fingers crossed it should heal itself but we've got WNCL coming up as well so I'll probably need to manage my time in the next little while as well."