Lightning strike causes the major casualty of Australia Day weekend

[injuryupdate]

Australians watched a bumper weekend of sport on Australia Day with minimal loss as far as the elite athletes are concerned. In tennis, the run of ankle injuries moved to higher parts of the body, for rugby league there were no disasters in the Sevens and no one has broken down in the cricket. Brisbane Lions fans must be worried about a report that Michael Voss' playing future is in doubt because of his chronic knee problem. Although Leigh Matthews has denied much of the reportthe lack of a full pre-season raises the question of whether Voss will pay a price for continuing to play in last year's finals with local anaesthetic. The tragedy of the weekend was a 31-year old amateur cricketer, killed by a lightning strike whilst playing cricket. The worry of this incident is the speed of approaching lightning. Cricketers will leave the field at the first drop of rain, which the lightning obviously preceded. Read a review from the Medical Journal of Australia on recommendations for suspension of play during lightning in sport at:
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/177_01_010702/mak10009_fm.html