Sydney Thunder’s Sherfane Rutherford, the hero of their dramatic final-over victory, shared the emotional impact of the terrifying collision between teammates Cam Bancroft and Daniel Sams, which overshadowed their win against Perth Scorchers on Friday.
The match, which ended in an upset for the Thunder, was marred by a sickening head-on collision between Bancroft and Sams while they were trying to dismiss Big Bash League leading run-scorer Cooper Connolly. The impact left both players with concussions and potential facial injuries, and the crowd groaned in horror as teammates rushed to their aid, including Rutherford, who was one of the closest to the scene.
“It was pretty tough standing at mid-wicket, I saw everything,” Rutherford recalled. “I was going to check on them, but when I saw the blood, I turned away because I’m not a fan of blood. I saw Dan Sams in the rooms, and he looked unconscious, but they’re both in the hospital now, so I’m praying they can recover soon and get back on the field.”
Rutherford was named Player of the Match for his match-winning knock of 39 off 19 balls, including the 15 runs needed from the final six balls to seal the win. He dedicated his performance to Bancroft and Sams, calling them “soldiers” who inspired the team.
“(Playing for them) was definitely motivation for us,” he said. “We had a chat before we went to bat, and everything we did that night was for them. I told myself I had to do something for them, and it had to be tonight when we needed it most.”
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Rutherford also revealed that there was a moment of uncertainty during the fielding innings when assistant coach and former player Dan Christian was nearly called into action to replace the injured pair.
“There was a bit of confusion because we didn’t know what to do,” he said. “Ollie Davies wasn’t feeling well, but we had to get him on the field. We were thinking about bringing Dan Christian in. It was tough because those are two of our key players. Davies came out and did his best, and as a team, we tried to take on the responsibility and finish the job. Credit to David Warner, who set it up nicely. Then it was just important for one of us to finish it off.”
Perth Scorchers’ Finn Allen, who scored 68 runs, expressed his concern for the injured players after the game.
“It’s always tough. I hope those two are okay,” Allen said. “It’s never nice to see; it’s always pretty horrific.”
