Adam Ball has described six weeks on the sidelines with a foot injury as “massively frustrating.”

The 20-year-old Kent all-rounder bowled for the first time since his return to action, taking 2-25 from 10 overs in the Second Eleven game against Sussex at Maidstone on Wednesday.

Ball’s two matches since his comeback, playing only as batsman, had proved successful.
He marked his return by scoring a maiden championship hundred against Surrey 2nds at Croydon earlier this month.

He followed that with 70 against Essex – also at The Mote last week – skippering a young Kent side to a 10-wicket win against Essex, who included former England paceman Saj Mahmood.

Ball was injured when he tore a tendon while batting for his club Bexley in the Kent League, running between the wickets.

He said: “I hit the ball to mid-off, went to run, said no and put all my weight on my right foot. I couldn’t tell you what happened after that but I was in pain.

“The foot specialist at the Kent Physiotherapy Clinic Tom Austen is doing a case study on the injury because of the rarity of it and how I did it.”

Ball added: “The injury came at the wrong time, and has been massively frustrating. The t20 was just about to start and there was also a potential spot in the four-day team, so there could have been opportunities for me.”