North of Scotland T20 Cup final between Northern Counties and Forres ends with member of Inverness club being taken to hospital
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The North of Scotland Cricket Association T20 Cup final between Northern Counties and Forres was brought to a premature end as one player was rushed to hospital.
Counties spinner Nuwan Eshwara was hit in the face by the ball when he was bowling, and was immediately taken to A&E.
With Forres already closing in on a seemingly inevitable victory, the decision was taken to abandon the match, with the trophy remaining in Moray.
Eshwara, meanwhile, was found to have a broken nose and after five and-a-half hours of thorough checks he was discharged.
"Not the end to the season we'd have wished for but we're pleased to be able to tell you that, after five hours in A&E and a very nervy wait for news, our Nuwie is up and about with 'only' a broken nose to show for his troubles," Northern Counties posted on their social media later in the evening.
"Thanks to everyone who sent their best wishes – they have all been passed on.
"The clubs' thanks also go to Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin for their care on what was a busy afternoon in A&E."
Inverness side Counties had batted first, but struggled to build any significant partnerships early on in their innings in the shortest format of the game.
Shaun Thomas, batting at six with the order changed around for the T20 match, top scored with 35 not out. John Impy was next with 27 as Northern Counties posted a run-a-ball 120 for Forres to chase.
Despite an early wicket for Eshwara though, who trapped Asim Ali LBW on just two runs, Forres were never in any serious trouble.
They were sitting on 113 with four overs to spare, having lost just two wickets, when Eshwara was hurt, so were strong favourites to get over the line.
The result means that Forres claimed both senior cup trophies from the 2023, while Counties went unbeaten in the league to take the Senior League crown.
