Perth Scorchers paceman Matt Kelly says he feared he had suffered a serious injury after being struck flush on the face during a freak fielding mishap last month.
Kelly was at the non-striker's end ready to catch a fielder's return throw when the ball ricocheted off Aaron Finch's bat and cannoned straight into the bowler's face.
The 28-year-old crumpled to the turf and was left bloodied and concussed - ruling him out of last week's qualifying final win over the Sydney Sixers.
Kelly has now fully recovered, and will return for Saturday's grand final at Optus Stadium if he earns the selection nod ahead of spinner Peter Hatzoglou.
"It was pretty scary. It wasn't nice to be a part of," Kelly said of the fielding mishap.
"I've only looked back at it once and I don't intend to watch it again.
"It's not too nice to talk about. I do remember the ball coming in and hitting me, and then there's a bit of a blank spot there.
"I was lucky I didn't lose all my teeth and that my jaw was fine, so I'm very grateful.
"I had stitches on the outside of my mouth, and then quite a big cut inside my mouth. But other than that I was fine, apart from the concussion symptoms.
"Once I knew I had no major damage, I was relatively calm about it."
With Lance Morris flying off to link up with Australia's Test squad, either Kelly or Hatzoglou will get the selection nod for the decider.
Hatzoglou is yet to take a wicket in his four appearances in Perth this season, while Kelly has snared five scalps in five matches at Optus Stadium.
"Unfortunately that's the nature of sport," Kelly said of the selection squeeze.
"We're all competitive people and we want to play all the time.
"We love being part of this group. To have success you're going to have to make sacrifices, and that means selection dilemmas.
"I'm glad I'm not making that decision."
The Scorchers, winners of four BBL titles, will face the winner of Thursday night's clash between the Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat.
