BBL 2023-24 – Sam Harper on road to recovery after ‘grim’ concussion

The wicketkeeper suffered a laceration on his chin and neck after being struck by a ball on January 5 as he attempted to play a ramp shot while preparing for a Big Bash League match.

The incident shocked onlookers and Harper was taken to hospital, where he stayed overnight.

“The initial incident and the first few days after were pretty grim and pretty rough,” Harper told Fox Cricket on Monday night ahead of the Stars’ match against Hobart. “It’s not something I wish to go through again.”

Harper, 27, has a history of concussions and was sidelined for several weeks in 2017 after being accidentally struck in the head with a bat.

“Unfortunately I’ve had a few [concussions] now so I knew potentially what some of the symptoms would be,” Harper said. “As people do say, they’re all very different. This one the first few days just getting over the dizziness and constant head spins.

“It was pretty bad the first few days so it was just getting through that and when I got over that it was a bit of a relief and things progressively got better from there.

“It’s always concerning and frightening, especially when you’ve has a few hits, in those initial few days.

“Distressing for me and distressing for my family.  I’m just relieved and in a really positive headspace that things seemed to have turned a corner.”

Stars’ BBL campaign is over after they were eliminated from the finals race but Harper is hopeful of being cleared to play for Victoria when the Sheffield Shield resumes in February.