Liam Norwell: Warwickshire fast bowler to miss rest of season with hamstring injury
- Published
Liam Norwell has taken 14 Championship wickets in four matches for Warwickshire since his winter move from Gloucestershire
Warwickshire fast bowler Liam Norwell will miss the rest of the 2019 season with a badly-torn hamstring.
Norwell, 26, has undergone an operation on the left hamstring that he injured in last week's County Championship win over Yorkshire at York.
With Australian Ryan Sidebottom also out for the season with a shoulder injury, the Bears signed Toby Lester on loan from Lancashire last week.
They have now added two more pacemen, James Wainman and Bailey Wightman.
Yorkshire left-arm seamer Wainman, 26, has been registered for the next month, with an option to extend the deal further.
The Bears have also given a short-term deal to Warwickshire-born Australian teenager Wightman, who played Minor Counties cricket last season for Cheshire.
Wightman, who has been based in Adelaide since the age of nine, returned to England in 2018 to play club cricket for Yorkshire side Bradford & Bingley.
James Wainman (left) has made four List A and two T20 appearances for Yorkshire, while Bailey Wightman played for Cheshire last season
"We're devastated for Liam that's he's been ruled out for the rest of the season," said Warwickshire sport director Paul Farbrace. "He's made such a great impact since coming into the side.
"He's an excellent character who won't get down by this latest setback, but instead put every effort into coming back stronger for us in 2019.
"James has been on the road with the first team for the last two Championship games. He is a left-armer who gets good movement, whilst Bailey has already played in the second team. He offers good pace and bounce.
"With the away run of Championship matches to continue over the next three weeks, James and Bailey could have an important role to play for us against Kent, Hampshire and Essex."
Warwickshire also had Henry Brookes missing for this week's defeat by Surrey at The Oval, while the Bears are also without their two England fast bowlers, Olly Stone and Chris Woakes.
Stone is yet to appear this season following the back problem he suffered on tour with England in the winter, while Woakes is on World Cup duty and expected to be a regular throughout the Ashes series which follows.
The Bears return to action at Canterbury on Sunday against Kent.