A shoulder injury to swing bowler Adam Dale has thrust XXXX Queensland Bulls allrounder Brendan Creevey into the Mercantile Mutual Cup spotlight for Sunday’s clash with a full-strength NSW Blues team at Bankstown Oval.

A schoolteacher, Creevey received the call at lunchtime to miss the rest of the day’s classes and make a dash to the airport to fly to Sydney to join the rest of the Queensland team.

Dale, who had flown to Sydney with the rest of the team earlier in the day, suffered what Bulls coach Bennett King described as a “flare-up’’ in his shoulder while helping with the team luggage and cricket equipment upon arrival.

“We made the decision to get him back to Brisbane as soon as we could. At this stage, our aim is to have him right for next week’s Pura Cup match against Tasmania,’’ King said.

Dale consulted with Queensland Cricket medical staff on his return and will have his condition further assessed on Monday.

Creevey played the first two matches of the Mercantile Mutual Cup last season but was overlooked for the remainder of the season despite taking 79 wickets for Sandgate-Redcliffe in the Brisbane XXXX First Grade competition, the most since 1963-64.

Creevey, who also claimed the Peter Burge Medal for the Grade Player of the Year, played for Australia ‘A’ and Prime Minister’s XI in 1999 and was twice selected in the Mercantile Mutual Cup Super Team.

XXXX Queensland Bulls v NSW Blues, Mercantile Mutual Cup, Sunday, Bankstown Oval: Stuart Law (c), Matthew Hayden, Jimmy Maher, Martin Love, Andrew Symonds, Clinton Perren, Lee Carseldine, Scott Prestwidge, Wade Seccombe, Andy Bichel, Brendan Creevey, Ashley Noffke (all twelve to play).

© 2000 Queensland Cricket