An unfortunate incident has marred Australia's preparations for their Cricket World Cup blockbuster against India.
While Australia trained at The Oval in London, a local net bowler was struck in the head by a ball hit by David Warner.
The bowler was tended to by medical staff for over 10 minutes and was later stretchered from the nets.
Australia captain Aaron Finch confirmed the man had been taken to hospital, leaving Warner visibly distressed.
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"Dave was obviously pretty shaken up," Finch said.
"The young guy seems to be in pretty good spirits at the moment. He's obviously been taken off to hospital and will continue to be assessed just to make sure that everything is okay.
"But, yes, Dave was pretty shaken up, no doubt. It was a decent hit to the head.
"Hopefully everything keeps going well for the youngster and he's back up and running shortly. Yes, it was tough to watch."
The training session was stopped briefly, and resumed. However, a visibly "rattled" Warner was comforted by assistant coach Ricky Ponting.
The 32-year-old returned to the session in the same net roughly five minutes later.
The ICC later confirmed the net bowler had been taken to hospital for precautionary measures, but was conscious and smiling as he was carted away.
Cricket Australia later released a statement: "While the bowler is being monitored for delayed signs of concussion, a CT scan cleared him of any major damage. The bowler was conscious when he left the ground."
Concern over a local net bowler at Australia training ... copped a ball to the head off the bat of David Warner. Looks concussed. Stretcher coming out at The Oval. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/apHRWIYYz1
— Sam Landsberger 🗯 (@SamLandsberger) June 8, 2019
Warner's World Cup opened in perfect fashion when Australia defeated Afghanistan in Bristol last week.
The left-hander scored an unbeaten 89 against Afghanistan in the seven-wicket win, but he fell cheaply in the subsequent 15-run win over the West Indies.
The 2-0 Australians will take on Virat Kohli's Indian side on Sunday, which opened its account with a six-wicket win over South Africa on Wednesday.
