Frightening scenes as cricket star is struck in the face by 119km/h delivery in bizarre circumstances

Adelaide Strikers coach Luke Williams says Bridget Patterson has ‘escaped any serious injury’ after the wicketkeeper was forced out of the North Sydney Oval following an unpleasant incident when she was hit in the face by a fierce throw from teammate Darcie Brown who hit 119 on Tuesday km/h clocked .

Patterson, 30, suffered a cut and bleeding after the ball took a bad bounce and rose steeply in the fourth over, striking her in the right eye.

She was taken off the field a few minutes later, with the WBBL franchise hoping she had avoided serious damage.

“It was a nasty injury so we’re all worried about her, but it looks like she’s escaped a major injury. It was annoying at the time with the cut,” Williams said after the game.

The frightening moment was the main talking point after the match as it is very strange for wicketkeepers to be hit like this due to a wildly unpredictable bounce.

However, this should not detract from Adelaide’s abysmal 11-point win as the defending champions avoided back-to-back losses to start the new season.

They recovered from a horror start to 171 thanks to Patterson’s team-high 44, while Amanda-Jade Wellington (40 off 16) provided the late fireworks as Orla Prendergast controlled the innings with an important 39.

“I think that was a very important stage in the game, being 3-22,” Williams said.

“It can be easy at times not to score or to go back into your shell, but I thought Bridget and Orla and then Amanda-Jade kept scoring and putting pressure on the bowlers, which can be difficult when you’ve lost early wickets.

Wicketkeeper Bridget Patterson was assisted from the field (pictured) – with her coach Luke Williams later confirming she had ‘escaped serious injury’.

Before the incident behind the stumps, Patterson (pictured) top-scored with 44 for Adelaide

“We showed a bit of courage to do that and we were very happy with the 171, which is about a par score here.”

Their bowlers then produced some clutch moments as the Sixers threatened to clinch the target, with Megan Schutt conceding just five runs in the penultimate over, leaving the hosts needing 14 off six deliveries.

It was almost fitting that Ellie Johnston – the woman who came on to replace Patterson – played in the last wicket as she pulled off the bails to stump Frankie Nicklin.

“Ellie did a great job. She was nominated as the twelfth player and so was probably preparing to play as a substitute instead of as a sub,” her coach said.

‘For her to be called upon at critical moments and with a bowling attack that created chances at different times… she was straight into the game and I was really proud of how she did.’

Brown also recovered from the fearful moment to finish with 2/25 from her four overs, with the Aussie striking quickly with her first delivery on a night when she sent down lightning bolts from start to finish.

“I think it’s really exciting to come out tonight, Darcie was,” Williams said.

‘She showed reasonable signs in her first match and she looks very confident, and that confidence is increasing.

“We are very excited about what she will produce in this tournament.”

Injured star Alyssa Healy was at North Sydney Oval on Tuesday night and has a chance to play in the Sixers’ next match on Friday. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the Sixers could get a huge boost ahead of Friday’s showdown against the Melbourne Stars, with Alyssa Healy given a ‘sneak’ chance to return from the foot injury that ended her World Cup campaign prematurely.

Healy had a session on Tuesday and will have to convince the team’s medical staff that she is ready to go, with the veteran wicketkeeper telling Fox Cricket in pre-game coverage that her recovery is ahead of schedule.

“It’s actually going a lot faster than I thought, so Friday could be a sneaky one,” she said.

“We’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the week goes, but if I get to play here against the Stars on Friday night, I’ll be pretty excited.”