ORTHODOX West Indies left-arm spin bowler Nikita Miller says he should be fit for the regional One-Day tournament set to be staged in Jamaica from October 12-24.

The spinner told the Sunday Observer in an interview last week that the left-hand finger injury he sustained during the Caribbean Twenty20 (T20) championships in late July should fully mend by the end of this month.

“The injury took place during our opening game of the regional T20 (tournament) against the Leeward Islands. I went to field a ball and my little finger got stuck in the ground. After the X-ray tests were done the result was that the joints were okay but the tendons were damaged, thus I was unable to bend the finger.

“In order for it to be healed I have to keep it in a cast for a total of five to eight weeks. I check with my doctor (Dr Akshai Mansingh) occasionally to see where it is at and it should be fine before October 1,” he said.

Milller suffered a right-side strain while playing for West Indies against the touring South Africans in May of this year and was ready just in time to participate in the regional T20 tournament in Barbados and Trinidad.

A disappointing Jamaica finished fourth, while Guyana claimed the title and will represent the region at the Airtel Champions League in South Africa later this month.

Miller did not play for local club Melbourne during the recent two-day Super League and Limited Overs competitions and comments in some quarters pointed at a rift between himself and players and officials at the club.

Responding to that speculation, the former St Elizabeth Technical schoolboy stressed that his unavailability to play has been strictly due to his injury problems.

“I’ve been injured and that’s the only reason I haven’t been playing any cricket. So even if international cricket was being played I wouldn’t be able to play. It’s just unfortunate that I couldn’t get the chance to represent my club,” he said.

The 28-year-old has taken 30 wickets in 33 One Day Internationals, but was wicketless in his lone Test match against Bangladesh last July.

Miller said while he was able to finish the regional tourney despite the injury, it was important to start the rehabilitation process immediately on his return.

“I strapped it up on tour seeing that it’s just four overs per bowler in Twenty20 Cricket. During practice the coach (Junior Bennett) gave me some lee-way in terms of fielding seeing that I couldn’t allow much contact with it and the ball,” he said.

“On my return to the island after the tournament the doctor advised at the time that it is better to cast it and allow it to recuperate. I’ve had it in a cast since I returned and I only remove it (the cast) to clean the finger. I can do physical activities like running and bowling but I can’t play a game because I can’t field properly,” Miller added.

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