The Cartwrights' second child arrived safely in the early hours of Tuesday while dad was unbeaten on 52
Cartwright's special delivery amid remarkable Shield innings
Hilton Cartwright has scored 29 first-class half-centuries, but it is certain he will never forget this one.
Spread across two days, Cartwright faced 86 balls for his 65 against Tasmania but it was another type of delivery that will stick long in the Western Australian's mind.
The 32-year-old's second child, a son, arrived safely in the early hours of Tuesday while he was unbeaten on 52. It was an unexpectedly early arrival and came amid a remarkable sequence of events.
Cartwright had been forced to make arrangements to leave the WACA Ground at tea on Monday's second day with his 37-week pregnant wife Tameka having to be induced following a complication.
The right-hander had helped the home side to 3-98, still trailing the Tigers by 179 runs, when he departed to be by his wife's side. Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly batted out the rest of the final session.
Following the birth on Tuesday, an undoubtedly sleep-deprived Cartwright returned to the ground for WA's warm-ups ahead of day three, strapping the pads on to come in at the next fall of wicket.
When Connolly was out for 55, Cartwright was permitted to resume his innings and shared an embrace with Inglis after the latter brought up triple figures.
Cartwright added a further 13 runs before being caught hooking off Riley Meredith.
"My wife Tameka was only just 37 weeks pregnant so this match against Tassie was never meant to effected by the birth of our second child which is why I chose to play," Cartwright said today.
"She experienced some complications over the weekend which led to a call from the obstetrician yesterday once I had already got to the ground. She recommended that the best course of action for the safety of mum and baby was to be induced that afternoon.
"Tasmania was made aware of this situation during the innings break.
"Between myself, the coaches and Sam (Whiteman, WA's captain), we had a plan in place surrounding the time I needed to leave the ground at the tea break in the hope of returning to the crease at a later point in the innings."