Will Pucovski retires hurt with concussion against England Lions

The incident occurred when the batsman, who was captaining a Cricket Australia XI in the unofficial first ODI, got his bat lodged in the turf

Australia batsman Will Pucovski was forced to retire hurt against England Lions on Sunday after suffering a bizarre concussion.

The incident occurred when the batsman, who was captaining a Cricket Australia XI in the unofficial first ODI, got his bat lodged in the turf when taking a single, causing him to fall to the ground.

After concussion tests were carried out, the 22-year-old was subbed out of the match and will continue to be observed by medical staff.

Post-match the Victorian, who has had a string of concussion injuries in the past, said he could remember the incident clearly.

“I remember what happened," he said. “Obviously my bat got stuck and I went tumbling over then smacked my head on the ground pretty hard.

^{Pucovski pictured at the Carrara Oval}

“I’m a bit on-off. I feel alright for 15 minutes and then feel a bit average for another 15. I should hopefully be back in action pretty quickly though.

“I’ll just keep in touch with the doctors and hopefully start to reduce a few symptoms, then get back into it.”

Pucovski, who was set to make his Test debut for Australia over the summer but withdrew from the set-up citing mental health reasons, is expected to miss the series’ next match on Tuesday.

England Lions will take a 1-0 series lead into that fixture having won by six wickets at the Carrara Oval. Max Bryant struck a fine century for the hosts but an unbeaten 122 from Warwickshire’s Sam Hain, 94 from Laurie Evans and a half-century from Dan Lawrence saw England home.

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