Sam Harper fine after being hit by the bat on his helmet

20-year-old wicketkeeper Sam Harper from Australia suffered a nasty injury in a Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and South Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Harmer was standing up at the stumps with left-arm spinner Jon Holland bowling at Jake Lehmann. Holland dropped one pretty short and Lehmann sensing the opportunity wanted to hit it on the on-side but probably went a bit too hard and hit the helmet of the keeper in the follow through of his shot.

Harper fell down on the ground and wasn’t able to get back on his feet. He was soon attended by medical staff and later taken off the field to the hospital. Fortunately, he hasn’t suffered any internal bleeding or bone damage in the skull but will miss the rest of the match.

Cricket Victoria in an update on his status said the CT scan looked good and he hadn’t suffered any bleeding or bone damage but will still spend the night in the hospital and will be under observation of the doctor. West Redbacks tweeted- “UPDATE: Harper is conscious and talking but is going off to hospital for scans after being struck in the head by Lehmann’s bat #SAvVIC”

The umpires decided to extend the lunch break and to give the players time to absorb the situation. Victorian coach Andrew McDonald told ABC radio that the umpires delayed the second session to ensure the players from both sides were able to get to terms with the situation after the accident.

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According to McDonald the two captains also consulted about the option to allow Victoria a replacement since Harper won’t be able to feature in the match. But Cricket Australia’s Concussion and Head Trauma Policy isn’t effective in the Sheffield Shield since ICC rejected the proposal for first-class and international matches.

Cricket Australia posted a video of the incident on their Facebook page: