By Justin Chadwick
Cameron Bancroft’s BBL season is over after the Sydney Thunder opener suffered a broken shoulder in his horror collision with teammate Daniel Sams.
Bancroft and Sams were both still in a Perth hospital on Saturday morning following their sickening clash in the field during the Thunder’s last-ball win over the Scorchers.
Cameron Bancroft and Daniel Sams of the Thunder collide while attempting to catch the ball during the BBL match between Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder.Credit: Getty Images
The pair are awaiting the results of CT scans, but Sams will also be sidelined for at least 12 days after he and Bancroft were diagnosed with concussions.
Both players will also spend at least another night in Western Australia, unable to fly to Brisbane with the rest of their teammates.
Bancroft also suffered a broken nose, and a shadow now hangs over the rest of his domestic summer.
The horrors of the clash came as another remarkable story emerged, with Oliver Davies rushing from the hotel to act as a concussion sub.
Still feeling unwell, Davies scored three off eight balls, but the Thunder went on to chase down Perth’s 4-177 from the final ball of the match.
The win lifted the Thunder to second on the BBL ladder with a game in hand, after winning only one game all of last season. But the club is likely to count the costs of Friday night for some time.
Bancroft’s injury caps a horror summer for the West Australian, who began it in contention for a Test spot before his form dropped at the worst possible time.
The Thunder will briefly get Sam Konstas back after the Sydney Test, but will likely enter the finals without he and Bancroft if Konstas is picked for Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka.
Sams is also one of the Thunder’s most important players given his strike-rate with the ball and ability to hit hard late.
The all-rounder will miss at least the next four games for the Thunder, with any return date to depend on how he recovers from his concussion.
For now, the Thunder are at least confident he suffered no further serious injuries, after laying prone on the turf and needing to be taken off in a medicab.
Play was stopped for five minutes following the collision, and Sams was treated by medical staff and an ambulance crew on the field.
Scorchers opener Finn Allen cracked 68 off 31 balls and Cooper Connolly chipped in with an unbeaten 43 as the hosts made 4-177 in front of 46,471 fans on Friday night.
In reply, David Warner (49 off 33 balls) set the foundations for the Thunder, but their victory hopes looked bleak needing 21 runs off the last seven balls.
A huge six from concussion substitute Hugh Weibgen (nine not out off six balls) gave them hope, and Sherfane Rutherford (39 not out from 19 balls) reduced the equation to three runs needed off the final delivery.
Rutherford just got his bat on AJ Tye’s final delivery to send the ball to the fine leg boundary and secure a famous victory.
Thunder players streamed onto the field following the miraculous victory, but the result came secondary to the horrific on-field collision.
Cameron Bancroft (right) is helped from the field while medical staff treat Daniel Sams after their collision.Credit: Getty Images
Both players were running at full pace from opposite directions in a bid to catch Connolly’s skied shot when they collided while lunging for the ball.
Thunder players rushed in as soon as the incident occurred, and the two Scorchers batters stopped running between the wickets out of respect for the injuries.
After five minutes of treatment, a groggy Bancroft was able to walk off the field with the help of a trainer, blood streaming from his nose as he left the field.
An ill Davies and uncapped 20-year-old Weibgen were approved as concussion replacements by the match referee.
Hugh Weibgen (centre) and Sherfane Rutherford after securing victory for the Thunder.Credit: Getty Images
“Standing at mid-wicket, I saw everything,” Rutherford said of the collision. “I was going to see how they looked, but when I saw the blood, I turned back because I’m not a fan of blood.
“I saw a bit of Dan Sams in the room. It looked like he was unconscious … It definitely was a motivation for us. Everything we did tonight, it was for our two soldiers.
“I told myself I had to do something for them.”
The Scorchers were 4-126 after 15.2 overs when play was halted while Bancroft and Sams were attended to.
Thunder spinner Chris Green (3-20 off four overs) played a crucial role in halting Perth’s momentum as the home side lost 3-8 in a mid-innings slump.
At 3-113 in their run chase, the Thunder were a real chance to pull off victory.
Warner’s dismissal in the 14th over when he was caught on the boundary was a huge blow, but some big hits from Rutherford were enough to get the Thunder over the line.
“I had two plans,” Rutherford said of the final ball.
“One was to try to hit it in the gap and get two. But then I was like, ‘That doesn’t make sense, just let me try to smack it, and anything can happen’.
“I actually had an edge down the leg [to win]. It was a good night for me, and I’m happy we got across the line for the team.”
AAP
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