DARWIN: Former Australia opener Cameron Bancroft has been cleared of serious injury and released from hospital in Darwin after he nicked a delivery into his throat on Saturday.

Bancroft, who was banned for nine months for his role in a ball-tampering scandal in the Test series against South Africa in March, has been playing in Darwin’s Strike League. His ban did not cover lower level cricket in Australia.

Cricket Australia’s website said on Sunday that the ball struck Bancroft in the throat after he miscued a lap sweep while batting for his Desert Blaze team.

He sunk to his knees and took several minutes to compose himself before continuing to bat but was dismissed shortly afterwards for 62 and then taken to hospital.

The 25-year-old suffered a cartilage tear in his trachea, but the injury would heal naturally, the website said.

He was released on Sunday after scans cleared him of any serious injury.

Bancroft’s former opening partner David Warner is also playing in the competition in Australia’s Northern Territory.

The 31-year-old, who was Australia’s vice-captain at the time of the incident in March, was banned for 12 months for his role in the scandal that rocked world cricket.

Warner, whose ban also did not preclude him from playing overseas, returned to the field in a Twenty20 league in Canada and the Darwin competition was his first on home soil.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2018