Phil Hughes

I think that irish has already covered this in his post, but I believe that the introduction of the helmet also saw the batsmen deal with the shorter pitched ball in a different way. They play the hook shot and pull shot in particular, in a much more freer and cavalier fashion than players from a previous generation did. That's not a bad thing of course, not least because it makes for good entertainment for the paying public. But there are risks involved, not least because they rely on the helmet for their safety. I recall the time when helmets were not available at all, for batsmen or fielders, and all that I can say of that era is that players relied on their technique . . . and good luck.

I recall that many years ago Barry Richards, who had been on Gloucestershire's books as a youngster (but been forced to move on to Hampshire CCC by order of the overseas players regulations) was facing his old buddy Mike Proctor. Proctor was bowling from the Muller Road End, and delivered a bouncer which Richards must have fancied because he attempted to hook the ball. Unfortunately for him he must have caught the ball high on the shoulder of the bat though, because it deflected off the bat and into his face. The result of all of this was the sound of an ambulance arriving, and a broken nose for Richards, which would have been avoided had he been wearing a helmet. But of course they weren't available at that time, so it is fair to say that it was his choice.

I also recall when Brian Close (ex-Yorkshire, Somerset and England) was fielding close to the bat (silly mid-on I think) and was struck on the head from a full-blooded shot, which rebounded off of his head and was caught by another fielder. I forget exactly what was said at the time, but it was to the effect that if the ball had hit him on a different part of his head then it would have been caught by a different fielder. Foolish or heroic, it's your choice, but clearly no thought given by Close to his own safety. But just in case there is anyone reading this who may not have witnessed at first-hand Test match cricket, without the use of a helmet by the batsmen, then here is one small example. But whilst viewing please think that whether this is an example of being brave, being foolhardy, being a bit daft, or confident in your own technique.






Mind you, none of this should detract from Phil Hughes' injury. Terrible business, and all the best to him for a full and speedy recovery.

Absolutley horrible news this morning

R.I.P Phil Hughes

Shocking news to wake up to this morning.

Imagine how Sean Abbott feels this morning - poor bloke.

Rip Phillip Hughes.

It really is just utterly dreadful - a real tragedy.

Yep. Complete and total freak. Was through the shot too early, had his head turned away, exposing his neck to the ball. Most people would just end up with an impressive bruise.

I hope Sean Abbott gets all the support and counselling he needs, lord knows how he must be feeling right now, poor lad.

Very sad news about Phil Hughes, a very talented cricketer who will be very much missed...R.I.P.

Simon Hughes on the BBC website:
It could have been me. During a 13-year playing career I bowled bouncers - hundreds of them. Hit a lot of batsmen. Top players. Robin Smith, Barry Richards, Botham, New Zealand opener Trevor Franklin, Gloucestershire stalwart Phil Bainbridge.

All hit on the head. There were others too. None, fortunately, seriously injured.

A fast bowler's job is to intimidate, instil a little bit of fear into a batsman. It is an accepted part of the game.


The death of Phillip Hughes to the bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott was a freak, tragic accident. It is a terrible fate to befall Hughes and his family. A cruel termination of a beautiful life.

But it must be horrendous being Abbott too. The 22-year-old will blame himself for what has happened. He will think the loss of Hughes is all his fault. And he has to live with that.

In truth it is remarkable this hasn't happened before. Hundreds of bowlers have hit hundreds of batsmen.

Many weren't even wearing helmets. I was hit square in the middle of the forehead (by the fast bowler Neal Radford) wearing just a cap. The ball went back to the bowler. I, like so many others, was lucky. I wasn't badly injured.

Helmets were only rudimentary back then in the 1980s. They often cracked or fell apart. Many head injuries were sustained in spite of wearing them. None, fortunately, were fatal. Helmets now are far better.

Cricket is as safe a game as it's ever been. All kids have to wear helmets when batting. I'd rather mine played cricket than rugby.

The chances of being killed by a bouncer are one in 10 million. Tragically, Phillip Hughes was that one.

Welcome to Australia Bristol Rovers, where keeping a respectful distance comes second to celebrity tittle tattle! I thought the close ups of Sean Abbott in particular were very disrespectful.

I think this is true - I was probably close to the last generation of players who grew up in the game before the helmet was mandatory for Juniors and like most of my peers I didn't wear one (and I mostly do now and probably will always now after this). There's no doubt it teaches you a certain respect for the ball - particularly keeping an eye on it.  Something I have noticed is an alarming tendency among young players now to 1)let it hit them on the helmet almost deliberately as if it doesn't matter if you are hit or not (it's there to prevent serious injury - it's not there because it gives you 100% protection for all injuries. It's like banging your head against the wall if you have a motorcycle helmet; it's not going to do you a serious injury but it's still not a great idea).  2)Turinng their back on the late rising bouncers - far more dangerous that because the helmet can't protect all of the back of your head.  I was always taught that whatever happens keep your eye on the ball for as long as possible because your natural reflex should get you out of the way.  So if this results in a bit more caution in coaching then that would definitely be about the only positive to come out of it - it is an odd thing with the human psychology- the safer something becomes the less you realise how dangerous it potentially is.

In my experience nasty cricket injuries tend to occur for 2 reasons.  1 - Something freakish happens that no one could have predicted; ball hits divot in the pitch, someone loses it in the sun etc.  2 - Someone is playing well above the standard they should be and putting themselves in danger (sometimes stubbornly so out of pride; happened to me when I suddenly realised I'd bitten off more than I could chew and could get hurt - not a nice feeling).  This applies to umpires to - I've probably read more stories of umpires being killed or seriously injured because they couldn't get out of the way of the ball in time or couldn't move properly.  It's what scares me more than anything else playing league cricket - in our league I would have thought the average age of umpires was 75 and many are over 80.  Most of them are perfectly good umpires but they are old, proud men who sometimes don't realise that they are putting themselves at risk because they just aren't sharp enough to get out the way anymore.

Like you said with Hughes though it has to be in the tragically freakish camp.  Because this wasn't someone who was inadequate at playing the hook shot (like a tailender who had a false sense of confidence or a cocky youngster over reaching himself) - this is someone who was genuinely regarded as one of the best back foot players in the World (and that really isn't an exaggeration).  Give him 6 short balls like that and 4 of them would probably disappear to the fence.  You couldn't even say that he shouldn't have played the shot to that ball neccesarily.  The whole thing is just utterly tragic - the chances of being hit where he was hit were incredibly remote and the chances of that then sparking a fatal injury astronomical.  Just a terrible, terrible tragedy.  As you say nothing good could remotely come of it but I suppose it may well result in a greater emphasis on safety and a doubling down on improving helmet technology.