Phil Hughes RIP

Just heard that he passed away. Absolute tragedy.

Wasn't he at Hampshire for a time?

Have just read that he was. Awful news

I guess injury is always a risk in sport but shocking news nonetheless. I also feel bad for the bowler. A lot for him to live with despite doing nothing wrong.

Wouldn't be surprised to see some do-gooder start lobbying to outlaw the bouncer now.

First time I have heard of a death caused by a bouncer in cricket. Shockingly bad luck.

A lot is made of the rivalry between England and Australia but news like this shows how trivial it all is.

RIP Phil Hughes.

Just heard that he passed away. Absolute tragedy.

Wasn't he at Hampshire for a time?

I think he played 5 games for Hampshire in 2010.

First ever death due to a bouncer in the professional game at least, astonishing as the only protection used to be a cloth cap.

Thoughts are with his family and ,as said, with the bowler as well

Bizarrely he'd have been fine if he hadn't turned his head

I found the news report on Radio 1 this morning unnecessarily graphic, "an artery split in his neck and flooded his brain with blood". I had to pull over + vomit on the pavement.

RIP

Awful news and a tragic accident. My thoughts are with his family and Sean Abbott.

Rip, really sad news.

A real freak accident .

I remember the going over the west Indies gave Brian Close when he was in his 40's in pre pure helmet days. Seems unbelievable that they just batted with the odd bit of padding.

I had to pull over + vomit on the pavement.

 

RIP

That was probably partly from the whisky too, Bear.

RIP, sad news. Must be awful for his wife and family, but also of course the guy who bowled to him. I wonder if he'll ever be able to bring himself to pitch it short again.

Sad news. RIP.

Disappointed to see that some papers are publishing photos of the moment that Sean Abbott was told the news. That poor fella has got enough to contend with without having cameras thrust in his face.

Rip, really sad news.

 

A real freak accident .

 

I remember the going over the west Indies gave Brian Close when he was in his 40's in pre pure helmet days. Seems unbelievable that they just batted with the odd bit of padding.

I’ve heard pundits argue that the introduction of helmets and extra padding etc. has led to a form of complacency within batsmen in the respect that, these days, batsmen are more likely to allow the ball to hit them and are no longer as adept at ducking to avoid bouncers, although this argument never applied to Brian Close – like you say, he allowed the ball to hit him regardless.

RIP Phil Hughes.

As mentioned above this really was a freak accident. We are talking a difference of probably millimetres between what has happened and perhaps severe bruising.

RIP - Thoughts with his family, and also for the bowler Sean Abbott too.

I don't like bouncers. They're not cricket. The aim of the game is to hit the wicket, not the batsman.

This had nothing to do with complacency and allowing the ball to hit him, without going into anatomy lesson it was a total freak accident, I've seen it in other situations but never sporting. No need for R1 to report it as they have done this morning, although its acurate

This had nothing to do with complacency and allowing the ball to hit him, without going into anatomy lesson it was a total freak accident, I've seen it in other situations but never sporting. No need for R1 to report it as they have done this morning, although its acurate

Oh yes, I agree that this was a terribly freakish and tragic accident. I recall that you’re a doctor, so you will obviously know better than any of us how unlucky Phil Hughes was to be hit in that particular spot.

The point I was making was that there is a school of thought – I don’t necessarily subscribe to it, btw – that before the introduction of helmets etc batsmen were less likely to be hit because they would spend hours practising how to spot bouncers early and take avoiding action – their only form of protection. A batsman in the days before helmets was taught to keep an eye on the ball at all times and never, never turn his back on it.

I don't like bouncers. They're not cricket. The aim of the game is to hit the wicket, not the batsman.

Dont want to detract too much from the OP, but the aim of the bowler is to get the batsman out, there are 10 ways of doing this. A bouncer is part of the bowlers armory, and would dilute the game if outlawed. Hughes had swerved the previous 6 bouncers, but (sadly)decided to play this one.

Terrible terrible news, absolutely shocking.

There are some sports that you'd might expect a tragedy like this, Cricket isn't one of them.

Terribly sad news, for everyone concerned, including the bowler.

I don't like bouncers. They're not cricket. The aim of the game is to hit the wicket, not the batsman.

A big part of the game (for the bowler) is to tempt the batsman to play a shot which either he probably should not have done, or will find hard to direct just as he wants. Just bowling at the wickets is not the game at all, though part of it

Really sad news and no blame at all for Sean Abbott

A tradgedy and my thoughts are with all who were close to Phil, RIP.

I don't like bouncers. They're not cricket. The aim of the game is to hit the wicket, not the batsman.

Totally wrong. The object is to get he batsman out.

It's a tragedy for all involved. Awful, awful news.

I don't like bouncers. They're not cricket. The aim of the game is to hit the wicket, not the batsman.

He did hit the wicket and then it bounced up towards his head. I think you mean "aim at the stumps".

Aim is to get the batsman out, he bounced it to tempt him into playing it. He didn't bowl it directly at his head.

I don't like bouncers. They're not cricket. The aim of the game is to hit the wicket, not the batsman.

I am with you on this Whitey and have never liked bouncers. The ball arrives so fast that it is difficult for the batsman to adjust and it doesn't seem sportsmanlike to me but hey, it is part of the game. Awful news.

Really sad. RIP.

Sincerely hope that Sean Abbott doesn't go off the rails. A lot for a 22yo to take on board, and sadly, I suspect that that is him finished in cricket. Fortunately he will have a huge amount of people around him to help, but not sure whether that will be enough.

I don't like bouncers. They're not cricket. The aim of the game is to hit the wicket, not the batsman.

Aim of the game is to get a batsman out. If it was just to hit the wicket - by which you actually mean the stumps - all the batsman would have to do is plant his bat upright in front of said stumps and spend 5 days batting out a draw without playing a shot.

No bowler - or at least a very vast majority - ever set out to hurt a player, but bowling a ball that makes the batsman uncomfortable and needing to fend off as opposed to play the stoke that he would like to is all part of the game. Having seen the albeit jerky video of the incident there was nothing wrong with the bowlers actions. This was just one of those freak accidents where the ball happened to hit a precise spot in such a way a to cause maximum internal damage. A mm either way or slightly different angle of contact and he'd have probably suffered nothing more than a bad headache. Unfortunately accidents happen in sport just as they do in all walks of life. I have cracked a colleagues rib when bowling at him in a practise with nothing more than medium pace, and broken my own wicketkeepers nose bowling spin with a ball that unexpectedly reared up, neither in any way intentional or against any rules.

As a now ex-cricketer myself I really feel for the Hughes family, but also the bowler Sean Abbott. Without wishing to trivialise the incident I hope he can put it behind him and carry on with his own career.

Very sad news.

Terrible news, he was a top cricketer, raised on a farm and honed his batting skills there just knocking balls against walls and the like. Resonates for many of us I am sure. Everyone has taken it pretty hard out here, ex Pats equally so.

All very, very sad.

I'd assumed that Hughes was just horrifically unlucky, but that we'll still see knee-jerk changes proposed to protective clothing and the laws of the game - for what is very unlikely to ever happen again.

This was backed up to the Australian team doctor who said that "vertebral artery dissection" is freakishly rare, and that there has only ever been 100 cases reported. He went on to say that there is only one previous example caused by a cricket ball.

But now I read this, which talks about an umpire being killed this week by being struck on the neck by a ball.

So, we're either seeing a cluster of freakish occurrences, or we've just been freakishly lucky that we haven't seen more before now.

All very, very sad.

 

I'd assumed that Hughes was just horrifically unlucky, but that we'll still see knee-jerk changes proposed to protective clothing and the laws of the game - for what is very unlikely to ever happen again.

 

This was backed up to the Australian team doctor who said that "vertebral artery dissection" is freakishly rare, and that there has only ever been 100 cases reported. He went on to say that there is only one previous example caused by a cricket ball.

 

But now I read this, which talks about an umpire being killed this week by being struck on the neck by a ball.

 

So, we're either seeing a cluster of freakish occurrences, or we've just been freakishly lucky that we haven't seen more before now.

I saw the Israeli umpire article as well (cricket in Israel is new to me). It's entirely possible that many more people have been killed playing cricket in obscure games around the world. In all honesty, is there any chance the Israeli umpire would have made even the slightest blip on the radar if he had been hit the week before Hughes?

Also, I haven't picked up on any knee jerk safety debate over here or in the UK media I follow, not that I have been seeking it out. There is a real feeling of sadness of course, but I don't get a sense there is a mood for change. Having said that, there's possibly room for more padding in the helmet in the area where Hughes was struck, though it might make it difficult to hear run calls.

I saw the Israeli umpire article as well (cricket in Israel is new to me). It's entirely possible that many more people have been killed playing cricket in obscure games around the world. In all honesty, is there any chance the Israeli umpire would have made even the slightest blip on the radar if he had been hit the week before Hughes?

 

Also, I haven't picked up on any knee jerk safety debate over here or in the UK media I follow, not that I have been seeking it out. There is a real feeling of sadness of course, but I don't get a sense there is a mood for change. Having said that, there's possibly room for more padding in the helmet in the area where Hughes was struck, though it might make it difficult to hear run calls.

Yeah, I'd agree burpy that we haven't seen the clamour for change yet, but I predict it will come.

I did see a report on one of the news channels whilst he was still critically ill, comparing cricket helmets with their baseball counterparts. The suggestion was that baseball helmets come further down the neck than most cricket helmet designs.

I think that since he passed away the discussion about helmet designs has stopped either out of a mark of respect, or because it might not be legally correct to focus on the design of a helmet that might have played a role in a death.

That said, the BBC carried an article that looked at the difference in design between the 2013 Masuri helmet (which Hughes was wearing), and the 2014 design. The implication being that the changes in design on the newer model may have led to a different result.

I hope this isn't deemed too soon to start discussing technicalities of another human being's sad death.

Yeah, I'd agree burpy that we haven't seen the clamour for change yet, but I predict it will come.

 

I did see a report on one of the news channels whilst he was still critically ill, comparing cricket helmets with their baseball counterparts. The suggestion was that baseball helmets come further down the neck than most cricket helmet designs.

 

 

I think that since he passed away the discussion about helmet designs has stopped either out of a mark of respect, or because it might not be legally correct to focus on the design of a helmet that might have played a role in a death.

 

That said, the BBC carried an article that looked at the difference in design between the 2013 Masuri helmet (which Hughes was wearing), and the 2014 design. The implication being that the changes in design on the newer model may have led to a different result.

 

 

I hope this isn't deemed too soon to start discussing technicalities of another human being's sad death.

I had Radio 5 on at the end of last week and they had a couple of Aussie Sports Journos on there and they were discussing/suggesting the possibility of banning the bouncer. It won't happen, but it is something that is mooted.

I agree with the above posters who’ve said that the bouncer is a legitimate part of a bowler's armoury; therefore, I’d prefer to see improvement in helmets rather than the outlawing of short balls. Besides, even if they were banned, bouncers could still be bowled inadvertently – like the outlawed beamer that occasionally slips through a bowler’s fingers – or a good length ball could unexpectedly rear up after hitting a crack in the wicket etc.

At the end of the day, no sport can ever be made completely safe. I haven’t seen any statistics on this but I would imagine cricket must be relatively low on the lists of sports resulting in serious injuries or deaths, which, in some respects, makes Phil Hughes’s death even more shocking and tragic.

An incredibly moving eulogy delivered by Michael Clarke at Philip Hughes' funeral (second video clip on the page).

They must have been very close.

An incredibly moving eulogy delivered by Michael Clarke at Philip Hughes' funeral (second video clip on the page).

 

They must have been very close.

Hadn't had a lot of time for Clarke before Hughes' accident but my opinion of him has completely changed - he has been a true leader during what must be a tough time for a lot of people.

A lot of respect to him for how he has handled himself and the situation (often becoming a spokesperson for friends and family)

Hadn't had a lot of time for Clarke before Hughes' accident but my opinion of him has completely changed - he has been a true leader during what must be a tough time for a lot of people.

 

A lot of respect to him for how he has handled himself and the situation (often becoming a spokesperson for friends and family)

I agree with that totally and utterly.

Here is an "interesting" viewpoint and no I didn't write it.

In the OPINION of the writer:

"The best way for cricket to respect the sad death of Phillip Hughes may be not a minute's silence, but a lifetime's silence.

By all accounts Hughes was a quiet country lad, who did not brag. On the day of Hughes' funeral, cricket's sledgers, and

that includes Australian captain Michael Clarke, may like to reflect on the vile abuse that they have used to ram home bowling

that often bordered on assault".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/63759297/Reason-Hughes-death-highlights-hypocrisy

.

Here is an "interesting" viewpoint and no I didn't write it.

 

In the OPINION of the writer:

 

"The best way for cricket to respect the sad death of Phillip Hughes may be not a minute's silence, but a lifetime's silence.

 

By all accounts Hughes was a quiet country lad, who did not brag. On the day of Hughes' funeral, cricket's sledgers, and

that includes Australian captain Michael Clarke, may like to reflect on the vile abuse that they have used to ram home bowling

that often bordered on assault".

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/63759297/Reason-Hughes-death-highlights-hypocrisy

 

.

What has that got to do with this tragedy?

Here is an "interesting" viewpoint and no I didn't write it.

 

In the OPINION of the writer:

 

"The best way for cricket to respect the sad death of Phillip Hughes may be not a minute's silence, but a lifetime's silence.

 

By all accounts Hughes was a quiet country lad, who did not brag. On the day of Hughes' funeral, cricket's sledgers, and

that includes Australian captain Michael Clarke, may like to reflect on the vile abuse that they have used to ram home bowling

that often bordered on assault".

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/63759297/Reason-Hughes-death-highlights-hypocrisy

 

.

I agree with the sentiments in that blog. Clarke has acted in a dignified and admirable way since Phil Hughes's death. I wonder if he now regrets his threat to "break your f ing arm" to Jimmy Anderson.

Sean Abbott is back bowling and took career best figures for NSW (6 for 14).

Fair play to him. Bowling that first ball would have been hard.