Jermaine Warner's hopes of breaking into Somerset's Cup Match team this year were shattered in mid-week when the veteran batsman fractured his left hand after being struck by a Kevin Hurdle delivery during a practice session at Somerset Cricket Club.

The 37-year-old Warner had nearly completed his stay in the middle when he played back to a short-pitched delivery that kicked up unexpectedly and dealt the batsman a nasty blow.

"That's it, there won't be any Cup Match trial for me on Saturday," Warner lamented. "There's nothing I can do about it now."

The incident, however, was not an isolated one as all-rounder Janeiro Tucker was also struck on the hand and is understood to have walked off the pitch in disgust over the current state of the venue's batting strip that has come under scrutiny lately.

"The wicket had extra bounce in it – it was more bounce than normal and one or two guys actually refused to bat on it," Warner added. "One guy (Tucker) who batted after me actually left because of the inconsistency of the bounce.

"I had only four more balls to face when this happened and up until that point I just tried to get through it. I was having an good hit. I went back to play the delivery but the lift just wasn't normal.

"I never anticipated the ball would reach that height and on a normal wicket I would've played that delivery comfortably."

When reached yesterday, Somerset chairman of selectors, Mark Trott, downplayed the incident that has deprived his club of a genuine opening batsman in the absence of Stephen Outerbridge and Jekon Edness who are due to travel with the senior national squad to Ireland next week.

"Yes, a couple of guys got struck . . . but that is normal," Trott said. "The pitch was a bit jumpy and the odd ball did pop up.

"But as far as I know the pitch is lovely. Everything is fine and everyone is pleased with the job the groundsman (Reid Jones) has done."

However, one Somerset insider, who wished to remain anonymous, begged to differ.

"Somebody is going to get seriously hurt on that pitch if it isn't fixed," he argued. "That pitch did all sorts of crazy things the other night (Wednesday). Nobody wanted to bat on it because they didn't feel safe.

"One batsman actually walked off the pitch because he was fearful of getting injured. That pitch is going to ruin someone's confidence, everyone was struggling on it."

It is, however, understood that the batting strip Somerset practised on earlier this week is not, in fact, the one the club intend to use for tomorrow's final Cup Match trial or next week's classic.

"That wicket was just prepared for training purposes yesterday (Wednesday), it's not the one we are going to use next week," Warner said. "The game is going to be played on a different wicket.

"But it would be nice if the wicket plays like that next week because we can't give St.George's a 'batsman's paradise'."