Watch: Anrich Nortje was felled by the Spidercam as it flew towards the unsuspecting South Africa fast bowler, striking him on the shoulder during the second Australia-South Africa Test at the MCG.
In between overs on the second session of day two, Nortje was walking back to his fielding position when the camera, suspended by wires above the MCG, hovered too low over the playing field and struck the speedster on his back. The Spidercam, which can travel up to a speed of 21 mph knocked down Nortje, causing him to fall face down on impact.
Fortunately, Nortje escaped serious injury, getting up soon after being checked by the medical staff. He returned to bowl soon after, taking the wicket of Steve Smith in the final session.
Speaking after the day’s play, Nortje, who has bowled 16 overs in Australia’s innings for one wicket, relived the incident. “The one thing we’ve spoken about earlier is how low it is,” he said. “It probably shouldn’t [be that low] unless it’s being used for certain interviews or something. I don’t think it should be travelling at head height, that’s just my opinion.
“It just knocked the shoulder and the elbow is a bit sore, but otherwise I’m OK. I’ll just monitor it and chat with the doctor. I saw cables and then I moved my head and then I saw the camera, but I was a little bit too late, it was quite quick. I didn’t know what hit me, to be honest. It didn’t really change my mindset or anything. I tried to stay focused and tried to stay ready when Dean (Elgar) asked me to bowl.”
Watch the incident here:
Here’s the @FoxCricket Flying Fox / Spider Cam doing its bit to help the Aussie cricketers build a healthy lead against South Africa… 😬🎥 Hope the player it collided with (Nortje?) is okay! #AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/9cIcPS2AAq
— Ari (@arimansfield) December 27, 2022
