Warner 'shaken up' after scary net incident

A local net bowler who was hit in the head by a powerful David Warner drive and subsequently hospitalised on the eve of Australia's World Cup clash against India has been given the all clear.

Warner was left visibly distressed following the nasty training incident that saw the medium-pacer struck in his follow through while bowling to the left-hander at The Oval nets.

Australia's training session was delayed for around 20 minutes as the team's medical staff and paramedics attended to the bowler on the pitch. He was put on a stretcher and taken from The Oval in a medicab.

The youngster underwent a CT scan and was being monitored, but there were no signs of delayed concussion. He has since spoken to Australia's doctor to confirm he was on the mend.

Warner eventually continued batting after the sickening blow but captain Aaron Finch, who had been batting in an adjoining net at the time, admitted his opening partner had been rattled.

"Dave was pretty shaken up," said Finch. "The young guy seems to be in pretty good spirits at the moment, he's obviously been taken to hospital and will continue to be assessed just to make sure everything is okay.

"It was a decent hit to the head. Hopefully everything keeps going well for the youngster and is back up and running shortly.

"It was tough to watch."

Bowler safety has become a greater concern in recent times as batsmen have grown in power and confidence in the T20 era.

The most high-profile recent incident of a bowler being struck in their follow-through saw Nottinghamshire paceman Luke Fletcher sidelined for a year after suffering a serious head injury when he was struck in a T20 game.

The MCC threw their support behind the development of specially-made head protection for bowlers last year, while Otago paceman Warren Barnes wore a helmet he'd designed with his coach in a domestic New Zealand T20 game in 2017.

Legendary England quick Jimmy Anderson told the BBC recently that getting hit in his follow-through has become a "recurring nightmare" for him.

Finch suggested helmets for bowlers "could be a decent idea" and expressed concern for net bowlers who are often amateur club cricketers not used to bowling to players who hit the ball as hard as the likes of Warner.

"It's quite rare that somebody gets hit and it's obviously very unfortunate," he said. "The medical staff that were on hand … and the paramedics at the ground did a really good job in getting there quickly to assess and make sure the right protocols and processes were put in place.

"It is a difficult one because you get some guys who come in who probably aren't as well-equipped with their games to be able to deal with that."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: India v Australia, The Oval

June 12: Australia v Pakistan, Taunton

June 15: Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval

June 20: Australia v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge

June 25: England v Australia, Lord's

June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE