LONDON: A net bowler who was hospitalised after getting hit in the head by David Warner has been cleared of serious injury ahead of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and India.
Warner was left distressed following the training incident at The Oval nets on Saturday. Australia resumed their session 20 minutes later as the team's medical staff and paramedics attended to the medium-pacer before he was stretchered off.
The bowler, who was helping the Aaron Finch-led side prepare for their third match, was conscious when he left the ground. He is being monitored for delayed signs of concussion, while a CT scan cleared him of any major damage, Cricket Australia reported.
Warner continued his batting practice but skipper Finch revealed that the left-hander was shaken up.
"Dave was pretty shaken up. 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," said Finch, who was batting in an adjoining net at the time.
The Australian skipper suggested helmets for bowlers while expressing concern for net bowlers who are club cricketers. He also said that these bowlers are not used to bowling players who hit as hard as they can.
"It's quite rare that somebody gets hit and it's obviously very unfortunate. 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," he added.
Australia have won both their matches - against Afghanistan and West Indies - so far. The Down Under team will meet India today at The Oval.