- Bridget Patterson was assisted from field after incident
- Unfolded in WBBL clash at North Sydney Oval on Tuesday
- Followed wicked bounce for Adelaide Strikers wicketkeeper
Adelaide Strikers coach Luke Williams says Bridget Patterson has ‘escaped any major injury’ after the wicketkeeper was forced off North Sydney Oval following a nasty incident when she was hit in the face by a fierce delivery from teammate Darcie Brown that clocked 119km/h on Tuesday.
Patterson, 30, suffered a cut and was bleeding after the ball took a wicked bounce in the fourth over and rose steeply, smashing her in the right eye.
She was taken from the field a few minutes later, with the WBBL franchise hopeful she’s avoided any serious damage.
‘It was a nasty injury, so we’re all worried about her, but it looks like she’s escaped any major injury. It was nasty at the time with the cut,’ Williams said post game.
The scary moment was the main talking point after the match, as it’s very strange for wicketkeepers to be struck in that manner due to a wildly unpredictable bounce.
However, it shouldn’t take away from Adelaide’s gritty 11-run victory as the defending champions avoided back-to-back losses to start the new season.
They recovered from a horror start to post 171 thanks to Patterson’s team-high 44, while Amanda-Jade Wellington (40 off 16) provided the late fireworks as Orla Prendergast controlled the innings with an important 39.
‘I think that was a really important phase in the game being 3-22,’ Williams said.
‘It can be easy sometimes to not score or go back into your shell, but I thought Bridget and Orla and then Amanda-Jade kept scoring and putting pressure on the bowlers, which when you’ve lost early wickets can be hard to do.
‘We showed a bit of bravery to do that and we were really pleased to get 171, which is around a par score here.’
Their bowlers then produced some clutch moments as the Sixers threatened to reel in the target, with Megan Schutt conceding just five runs in the penultimate over to leave the hosts needing 14 off six deliveries.
It was almost fitting that Ellie Johnston – the woman who came on to replace Patterson – featured in the final wicket as she whipped off the bails to stump Frankie Nicklin.
‘Ellie did a great job. She was nominated as the 12th player so was probably preparing to come on as a sub-fielder rather than as a sub-keeper,’ her coach said.
‘For her to be called upon in the critical moments and with a bowling attack that creates chances at different times….she was in the game straight away and I was really proud of how she went.’
Brown also recovered from the scary moment to finish with 2/25 off her four overs, with the Aussie quick striking with her first delivery on a night she sent down thunderbolts from start to finish.
‘I think that’s a really exciting thing to come out of tonight was Darcie,’ Williams said.
‘She showed reasonable signs in her first game and she looks really confident, and that confidence is increasing.
‘We are really excited with what she’ll produce in this tournament.’
Meanwhile, the Sixers could receive a massive boost for Friday’s showdown against the Melbourne Stars, with Alyssa Healy a ‘sneaky’ chance to return from the foot injury that prematurely ended her World Cup campaign.
Healy had a session on Tuesday and will need to convince the team’s medical staff that she’s good to go, with the veteran wicketkeeper telling Fox Cricket in the pre-game coverage that her recovery is ahead of schedule.
‘It’s actually progressing a lot quicker than what I thought, so Friday could be a sneaky one,’ she said.
‘We’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the week progresses, but if I can line up here against the Stars on Friday night, then I’ll be pretty chuffed.’
