St Lucia Zouks secured the first victory of their 2019 Caribbean Premier League campaign on a night marred by a nasty-looking injury for Jamaica Tallawahs’ all-rounder Andre Russell.

The West Indies all-rounder was taken from the field on a stretcher having been struck on the back of the head by a Hardus Viljoen bouncer.

Russell was taken to the hospital and given the all-clear after a scan. On the doctors’ advice, he returned to the team hotel to rest.

Meanwhile, Rahkeem Cornwall continued his fine start to the CPL season as he and Andre Fletcher did the bulk of the work to send the Zouks powering past the Tallawahs’ 170/5 with five wickets and 20 balls to spare.

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Russell had a brilliant Indian Premier League this year, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders and finishing as the fifth-highest run-scorer this season. But the 31-year-old was hampered by a string of injuries through the IPL.

Even at the World Cup after that, Russell had to bow out due to his injuries. This latest head injury comes as yet another setback for the talented all-rounder.