Western Australia all-rounder Hilton Cartwright had to leave his innings during the Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania. He rushed to the hospital during the Tea break on Day 2, having scored 52 not out, due to a complication involving his wife, Tameka.
After his child was safely born on October 22, Cartwright returned to the WACA. He resumed his innings following Cooper Connolly’s dismissal and added 13 runs before being out to Riley Meredith.
“My wife Tameka was only just 37 weeks pregnant so this match against Tassie was never meant to be affected by the birth of our second child which is why I chose to play,” Cartwright told Fox Cricket.
“She experienced some complications over the weekend which led to a call from the obstetrician yesterday once I had already got to the ground. She recommended that the best course of action for the safety of mum and baby was to be induced that afternoon. Tasmania was made aware of this situation during the innings break,” he added.
Cartwright has played for Australia in two Tests and two ODIs, all in 2017. He has begun the current Sheffield Shield season well, with several notable performances and taking two wickets in the drawn match against Queensland.
“We had a strategy prepared” – Hilton Cartwright on conversations with the captain and coach
There have been previous cases where players had to leave the field mid-match to handle personal emergencies. Earlier this year, Ravichandran Ashwin had to rush to Chennai during the third Test against England in Rajkot due to his mother’s illness, returning to the team later in the match.
“Between myself, the coaches and (West Australian captain) Sam (Whiteman), we had a plan in place surrounding the time I needed to leave the ground at the tea break in the hope of returning to the crease at a later point in the innings,” Cartwright said in the same interaction.
Western Australia scored 332 runs in their first innings, establishing a significant lead before bowling out Tasmania for 137 in their second innings, bringing them closer to victory.
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