Toe-curling second two cricketers smash into one another whereas fielding in a Big Bash League match… with one worryingly carried off on a stretcher

Shocking footage has emerged of two cricketers colliding with each other while going for a catch in a Big Bash League game and it makes for sickening viewing.

Daniel Sams and Cameron Bancroft were fielding for Sydney Thunder against Perth Scorchers in the 20-over competition when they smashed into one another at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

The home side’s Cooper Connolly was facing New Zealand pace bowler Lockie Ferguson in the game’s first innings when he pinged a shot high into the on-side off his legs. 

Both Sams and Bancroft went for the high catch and Bancroft, running from nearer to the wicket, gets a hand on the ball before his team-mate thumps head-on-head into him in a toe-curling collision.

The pair lay motionless for a few moments while help arrived and Sams, 32, eventually had to be carried off the field on a stretcher after appearing to suffer more serious injuries than his colleague.

Former Australia Test batsman Bancroft, also 32, managed to walk off the pitch with the help of a physio but seemed to be struggling with a bleeding nose.

Daniel Sams and Cameron Bancroft crashed into each other in the Big Bash League 

The Sydney Thunder pair lay motionless for a few moments and Sams had to be stretchered off

It was later confirmed that both players had suffered from concussion after the collision

After the incident, Thunder said in a statement: ‘Both players are conscious and talking, demonstrating symptoms of concussion, and have possible fractures. Both have been transported to hospital for assessment.’ 

The match eventually resumed after a pause of around 20 minutes and, at the change of innings, it was confirmed that both players had suffered from concussion.

Scorchers racked up a solid score of 177/4 with Connolly going on to make 43 not out off 31 balls. Sams had taken a catch earlier in the innings and went for 25 runs from his three overs.

It ended up having a thrilling ending, with Thunder completing their chase on the final delivery, winning by four wickets to surge into second and above Scorchers. 

Bancroft played in 10 Test matches for Australia from 2017 to 2019, averaging 26.23 with the bat and making three half-centuries.

He is perhaps best known for his role in the ball-tampering scandal, which saw him admit to ball-tampering after the third Test match in a 2018 tour of South Africa.

The batsman was spotted on camera rubbing the ball with sandpaper and, after he became aware the infringement, had been broadcast he hid the sandpaper down his trousers before umpires came to speak with him.

Captain Steve Smith later admitted the plan had been hatched by the team’s leadership group and was sent home by Cricket Australia along with Bancroft and opening batsman David Warner.

Bancroft has played 10 Tests for Australia but was dropped after struggling in the 2019 Ashes

He was banned for nine matches after a ball-tampering incident in South Africa in 2018

Sams has featured in 10 T20 internationals for Australia and has starred for Sydney Thunder

Bancroft received a nine-match ban for carrying out the orders, attempting to hide the evidence and trying to mislead the on-field officials.

He still went on to join Somerset Country Cricket Club that summer in a move which had already been planned.

The batsman made a return to the Test circuit the following year in the 2019 Ashes series in England but failed in his four innings in the first two matches and was dropped for the rest of the series.

‘Karate Kid’ Sams has played 10 T20 internationals for his country, most recently a match against England in October 2022.