Sydney Thunder final-over hero Sherfane Rutherford has revealed he had to turn away from the aftermath of the sickening collision between teammates Cam Bancroft and Daniel Sams before dedicating his match-winning knock to the pair of “soldiers”.

The Thunder’s heart-pounding upset over Perth Scorchers on Friday was overshadowed by the scary head-on fielding incident that left Bancroft and Sams in hospital with concussions and potential facial injuries.

The pair collided in the Optus Stadium outfield, attempting to claim the prized wicket of Big Bash League leading run-scorer Cooper Connolly, with the crowd releasing agonised groans and teammates, including Rutherford, who was one of the closest, rushing to their aid.

“It was pretty tough standing at mid-wicket, I actually saw everything,” Rutherford said.

“I was going to see how they looked, but when I saw the blood, I turned back because I’m not a fan of blood.

“I saw a bit of Dan Sams in the rooms, and he looked unconscious, but they are both in the hospital, so I’m praying they can come out soon and be back in the park.”

The West Indian star was named player of the match for his unbeaten 39 off 19, including chasing down 15 from the final six balls of the match.

And Rutherford revealed West Aussie Bancroft and Sams were in his thoughts the whole time.

“(Playing for them) was definitely motivation for us,” he said.

“We had a little chat before we went to bat, and it was just for them. Everything we did tonight was for our two soldiers.

“I told myself I had to do something for them, and if I had to do it any time, I had to do it tonight when we needed it most.”

He also revealed that during the fielding innings, assistant coach and former player Dan Christian was almost called into the field to replace the wounded pair.

“In the moment there was a bit of jossle and fussle because we didn’t know what to do,” he said.

“Ollie Davies was sick, but we had to get him out. We were planning to get Dan Christian to field for us or probably play.

“It was difficult because those are two of our key players.

“Davies came and tried his best even though he wasn’t feeling well, and as a team, we try and take it on ourselves, and we tried to finish the job and credit to David Warner, who set it up nicely.

“It was then just important for one of us to finish it off.”

Perth Scorcher Finn Allen, who hit 68 runs, said post-game he hoped Sams and Bancroft made speedy recoveries.

“It’s always tough. I hope those two are okay,” he said.

“It’s never nice to see; it’s always pretty horrific.”