MELBOURNE: South Australia opener Jake Weatherald has been ruled out of the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria after developing delayed concussion symptoms following a collision with the boundary fence.
Weatherald crashed into the picket fence while attempting to stop a boundary during Victoria’s first innings at Junction Oval on Wednesday. He initially appeared fine and continued playing before later opening the batting for South Australia.
The 31-year-old faced six balls before being dismissed for a duck. Victorian debutant Harry Hoekstra took the wicket, with Liam Blackford completing the catch behind the stumps.
After the day’s play, Weatherald reported feeling sluggish and suffering from a headache. He was assessed by the South Australian medical team and withdrawn from the match before the start of play on Thursday.
Former New South Wales batter Matthew Gilkes was named as Weatherald’s concussion substitute. However, he could not bat in South Australia’s first innings because Weatherald had already been dismissed.
Victoria were bowled out for 244, with Hoekstra top-scoring with 45 at No. 9. He later continued his impressive debut by taking Weatherald’s wicket and finished the day with 4-57.
South Australia responded strongly, reaching 6-352 at stumps on day two. Henry Hunt scored 71, Jake Lehmann made 90, while captain Ben Manenti was unbeaten on 92. South Australia now lead by 108 runs.
Weatherald was dropped from Australia’s Test squad in August following the first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin.
