Daniel Sams has been ruled out of the remainder of Essex’s Vitality Blast campaign this summer due to a knee injury.
Sams, who returned for a third Blast stint at The Cloud County Ground after being named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 tournament, sustained the injury against Sussex Sharks two weeks ago.
With that injury’s severity now clear, the decision has been taken for Sams to play no further part in this year’s Blast, and he has now returned home to Australia.
“It’s been great [to come back here],” said Sams. “My wife and I really enjoy coming back here, and we’ve made some really good friends with the guys and their partners.
“It is what it is. I’ve been pretty lucky throughout my career with injuries, so I’ll just have to go home now and recover as best as I can.”
Essex return to shortest-format action on Friday 05 July, with a return fixture against last season’s final opponents Somerset at The Cloud County Ground.
From there, Anthony McGrath’s men host further games against Kent Spitfires and Surrey, as well as facing trips to Glamorgan, Sussex Sharks, and Hampshire Hawks.