Footage has emerged of a former Australian cricketer being flung off her bike and colliding with a kangaroo in Canberra on Monday afternoon
Bronwyn Calver, who played three Tests and 34 one-day internationals for Australia during the 1990's, was cycling home from work on Adelaide Avenue near Capital Circle at 6.25pm when she encountered an obstacle she certainly was not expecting.
"One second I was riding along and next minute this kangaroo has come out from the side; it all happened so fast," Calver, 45, said.
"I think I tried to break and turn my wheel to the right but he's collected my front wheel and thrown me down hard on my left side, meanwhile he's hopped off."
Three cars stopped to offer help and people walking by waited with Calver until an ambulance arrived.
The kangaroo's luck on the road was short-lived though. Moments after the initial collision, it jumped over a railing onto another road and was killed by an oncoming car.
Calver received eight stitches for an 11-centimetre gash on her knee. She also injured her elbow, but is confident she will get back on the bike even if her injuries might take some time to heal.
Having ridden the same route for the last 18 months, Calver said she placed a Go-Pro camera on the front of her bike in case she had a problem with a car on the road, not foreseeing a collision with local fauna.
"We do have very good road cycle lanes in Canberra and you're aware of the traffic, I wasn't expecting a kangaroo to jump from where he was," Calver said.
"I've never seen a kangaroo in that spot. You certainly see kangaroos further along that route when you get closer to the bush behind the suburbs.
"They sit there, watch you and you slow down just in case they decide they are going to move at once but I've never ever had a close call at all."
Rather than worry about possibility of another kangaroo hopping out in front of her, Calver said she will soldier on and take her chances.
"If it happens again, it's bad luck I reckon," she said.
"I don't know how I can be more careful because I have all the safety gear on the bike, I'm lit up like a Christmas tree at night.
"Hopefully I'll get back on the bike."
