Harper hospitalised after being struck in the head

Melbourne Stars wicketkeeper Sam Harper is in hospital after being struck by a ball at training on Friday.

Attempting a ramp shot while batting at the MCG nets, Harper suffered a laceration on his chin and neck and was immediately attended to by the club’s medical team.

The 27-year-old stayed in hospital on Friday night and “will be monitored by doctors over the coming days”, the Stars said in a statement.

Scans, however, cleared the Victorian of an acute fracture or soft tissue damage.

Harper was preparing for tonight’s KFC BBL|13 game against the Sydney Sixers at the MCG, which he will now miss.

The former Melbourne Renegades player has a history of concussions and was sidelined for several weeks in 2017 after South Australia's Jake Lehmann accidentally struck him in the head with his bat while playing a pull shot.

Harper spent almost a month in a dark hospital room afterwards and initially needed a walking frame.

The keeper-batter called it "the worst three weeks" of his life.

In 2020, Harper was also hospitalised after he hit his head on the ground in a freak collision with Hobart Hurricanes player Nathan Ellis while playing for the Renegades.

The diminutive then 23-year-old was watching the ball as he raced at full speed to complete a single, noticing at the last moment he was on a collision course with Ellis.

As Ellis bent down to field a shy at the stumps, Harper instinctively leapt to go over him, instead flipping over his back and landing awkwardly on the Marvel Stadium surface.

He became the first player to be subbed out of a BBL game.

Without a backup wicketkeeper on their BBL list, the Stars have signed former player Peter Handscomb for the crunch clash.

Handscomb, who until now did not have a BBL contract despite having played two T20Is for Australia in 2019, played 51 games in green between BBL|01 and BBL|09.

The winner of the Saturday night blockbuster will propel either the Sixers or Stars – third and fourth respectively on the BBL table and equal on points – two games clear inside the finals spots.

Stars squad v Sixers: Glenn Maxwell (c), Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Nick Larkin, Dan Lawrence (England), Jono Merlo, Joel Paris, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Imad Wasim (Pakistan), Beau Webster.

KFC BBL|13 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Brisbane Heat Men HEA	10	7	1	0	2	0.972	0	16
2 Sydney Sixers Men SIX	10	6	2	0	2	0.339	0	14
3 Perth Scorchers Men SCO	10	6	3	0	1	0.725	0	13
4 Adelaide Strikers Men STR	10	5	4	0	1	0.331	0	11
5 Hobart Hurricanes Men HUR	10	4	6	0	0	-0.268	0	8
6 Melbourne Stars Men STA	10	4	6	0	0	-1.051	0	8
7 Melbourne Renegades Men REN	10	2	6	0	2	-0.288	0	6
8 Sydney Thunder Men THU	10	1	7	0	2	-0.652	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

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