In the 13th over of Scorchers’ chase, Cartwright sprinted from deep point as he attempted to prevent a boundary from Scorchers batter Cooper Connolly. He sprawled across the turf in a full-bodied dive towards the rope but appeared to jar his neck and was instantly in discomfort.
Cartwright remained face down and did not move in frightening scenes as Stars captain Marcus Stoinis ran over and waved towards his team’s medical staff. Play was halted for 10 minutes while Cartwright was attended to before he was stretchered off in a mini-ambulance with the support of a neck brace.
“Melbourne Stars batter Hilton Cartwright has been cleared of any serious damage to his neck whilst fielding in last night’s match against the Perth Scorchers,” a club statement said on Monday morning.
“Cartwright underwent scans and spent overnight in hospital but has now been released and will rejoin the squad in Melbourne in the next few days. A return to play will be determined once he is back in Melbourne.”
Cartwright, who plays for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup, left the ground to warm applause from the 30,649 crowd.
After crossing over from Scorchers ahead of BBL09, Cartwright’s explosiveness has been a mainstay of Stars’ middle order and he is also a useful seam bowler. He made 18 off 17 balls batting at No.5 in Stars’ six-wicket defeat to Scorchers.
Stars’ next game is against defending champions Brisbane Heat on Wednesday at the MCG.
“He’s very important to our team. He’s the heartbeat of our team, but not only for us, with Western Australia,” Stoinis said. “He’s a very well respected guy. You don’t expect those things to happen.
“It definitely put a dampener on the mood of the night. We ran there pretty quickly just to see him. But there’s nothing you can really do… just hope he’s alright.”
Cartwright, who played two Tests for Australia in 2017, has been in strong form to start the domestic season. He is the second leading scorer in the Sheffield Shield with 530 runs at an average of 53 and he has taken four wickets at 35.25.
During a Shield match against Tasmania in October at the WACA, Cartwright retired at tea on day two to attend the birth of his second child.
“Genuine concern for Hilton, certainly hope that he’s okay,” Scorchers/Western Australia coach Adam Voges said. “He’s a West Australian and much loved. We wish him the best and certainly hope that it’s positive news.”
