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Victorian rising star Will Pucovski has been substituted out of their Sheffield Shield clash with South Australia after suffering his latest concussion scare.
The 24-year old, who was making his return to first-class cricket after another concussion setback in pre-season, came off the field during the first over of play on day four at the Adelaide Oval.
The Vics later confirmed he had suffered a head knock in the warm-up, with the concussion the latest in a long string of concerning incidents for the opener. It is believed to be the 11th of his career.
“Pucovski reported concussion symptoms to medical staff while fielding in the first session of play this morning,” Cricket Victoria confirmed in a statement during the lunch break.
“He will continue to be monitored by Cricket Victoria medical staff.”
Unfortunately Will Pucovski’s return to first-class cricket was cut short after it’s learnt that the batter was hit on the head during warm-ups & suffered another concussion on the 4th morning of his #SheffieldShield comeback. He left the Adelaide Oval during the lunch break pic.twitter.com/yB3aZ4x8DE
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) February 12, 2022
Will Pucovski has suffered another concussion. I believe it's his 11th. Subbed out of Victoria's XI for Travis Dean. Incident happened during warm-up before play. Took the field briefly, then left.
— Andrew Wu (@wutube) February 12, 2022
Journalist Bharat Sundaresan confirmed on Saturday evening that the head knock had been sustained during the Vics’ warm-up, but not in the nets.
For all those speculating & commenting on Will Pucovski’s technique against the short ball based on the news of him suffering a concussion, a reminder that he wasn’t hit today while batting. It was instead during the team’s pre-match routines with a soccer ball #SheffieldShield https://t.co/zsRccA8alt
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) February 12, 2022
Pucovski has been replaced in the XI by Travis Dean. Teammate Nic Maddinson opened the batting in his stead in the second innings, with the Vics needing 316 runs for victory.
Will Pucovski (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Pucovski’s Sheffield Shield return had been going swimmingly up until the setback, with the young gun scoring 54 in the first innings as part of a 110-run opening partnership with Marcus Harris.
Having made his Test debut against India in Sydney last summer, the Victorian is touted as a long-term option at the top of the order for Australia, but persistent head knocks throughout his career have jeopardised his playing future.
A concussion during pre-season scuppered his chances of featuring in the Ashes series, while concerns for his wellbeing also saw him overlooked for the team’s Test tour of Pakistan.
Minus Pucovski opening the batting, Victoria slumped to 2-7 in the opening overs of their run chase, with Harris (5) and Maddinson (2) both falling cheaply.
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