St George’s pair Macai Simmons and Treadwell Gibbons look doubtful for Cup Match after suffering injuries in the same match on Sunday against St David’s in the Twenty20 League at Wellington Oval.

The early-order batsmen were hurt a short time apart while fielding and are now fighting against the clock to be fit for next week’s two-day match in the East End.

St George’s recorded their first victory after dismissing St David’s for just 89, but now the club could lose both batsmen for Cup Match, and possibly even the rest of the season.

“It [the win] has come at a great cost,” Clay Smith, the St George’s assistant coach, said. “Chinky [Simmons] just came off scoring 92 the day before and we were looking for him to lead us in the batting.

“We’ve just got to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. It was a tough injury because it was probably less than a half-chance of a catch. I think it was the adrenalin of the game, and it was a key wicket.

“He wanted to make the effort of at least trying to take the catch. The adrenalin pushed him to go for it when, in reality, I don’t think it was a catch.

“I believe he has a slight fracture, but how serious it is I don’t know yet.”

Smith added: “’Treddy’s injury happened after Chinky’s. He had just taken a great catch off Brian Hall, who had hit a screamer at him at short cover.

“Probably two overs, later Derrick Brangman gave another vital catch and Treddy just tried to ride it and, as he pulled slightly away, the seam ripped between his thumb and finger.

“It was cut and he had to come right off. We cleaned it and wrapped it and took him immediately over to [Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre] where I understand he got four stitches.

“He’s doubtful as well, but we’ll wait and see how he feels. I doubt he’ll be able to play in the final trial. Then we’ll have to decide where we go from there.”

Simmons, who has a cast on his hand, spoke to The Royal Gazette yesterday. “I’ll find out everything on Thursday morning, so I’ll be able to say more after Thursday,” he said.

“I landed awkwardly on my hand at mid-off. Derrick hit a ball from Detroy [Smith], it went in the air and I tried to dive for it and ended up hurting myself.

“I had my hand in ice when Treddy’s [injury] happened. He came right off the field and went straight to the urgent care centre. I was sitting on the side with some ice to see if I would be able to come back on and ended up going to urgent care myself.”

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Simmons, who scored 92 for St David’s in the first round of the Eastern Counties against Flatts on Saturday, helping the holders to a 180-run victory at Sea Breeze Oval.

The next day he was in another winning team, this time with St George’s against St David’s in the Twenty20 competition.

The injuries will be a blow to St George’s in Cup Match, with two changes already set to be made with the retirement of Lionel Cann and the unavailability of OJ Pitcher after a shoulder injury suffered in a bike crash.

“It will be difficult if we lose both these guys for the classic, but it would just give somebody else the opportunity to step up to the plate,” Smith said.

“The final trial will be crucial for some people to score runs, to show that they are willing to step up and take over those guys’ positions if that is the case. We’ll have to wait and see how it pans out.”

Oronde Bascome had a similar injury scare on Saturday during the Eastern Counties when he hurt his hand taking a low catch to dismiss Regino Smith while playing for St David’s. Fortunately for him and St George’s, the injury was not serious and he played on before turning out again on Sunday.

Both St George’s and Somerset will play trial matches on Saturday before selecting their Cup Match teams that night. It will be the third trial match for St George’s but only the first for Somerset, the champions.