Skipper out with broken finger

West Bromwich Dartmouth captain Harshad Patel is considering fresh tests on his broken finger.

Patel will miss his third successive match when his rock bottom team take on Kidderminster tomorrow.

The skipper is mulling over a new examination of the injury as he looks for a speedy return to action.

He said: "I was told it would be four weeks and I have been out for a couple of weeks now but, to be honest, it's still very sore.

"I've broken my finger and that normally takes about a month to heal.

"But I have played before with broken fingers and this one feels a bit different because it is still so sore, even though the swelling has gone down.

"I'll see how it goes in the next week or so and then if it's no different I might have to get it looked at again in case there is any ligament damage.

"I have broken fingers in the past but this is on my left hand, which is my main hand when batting."

Without their skipper, Dartmouth finally found some form with the bat last week as they made 244-8.

But the bottom side, who have been struggling for runs this summer, still had to be content with a losing draw against Leamington Spa.

Patel was still delighted to see his batsmen emerge from their trough.

He said: "I didn't play but I was watching the game and we batted very well, which was nice to see.

"The trouble is that when we managed to bat well we bowled and fielded poorly."