Indeed. Tragic news for the world of cricket in general and those close to Phil Hughes in particular. Deepest sympathy to all his family, friends and colleagues. And not forgetting poor Sean Abbott, who was bowling at the time. What he must be going through at this time is unimaginable. RIP, Phil
Really well said Cromer and as you say, my sympathy goes out to all involved in the sport and especially Sean Abbott. A tragic event and let's hope it does lead to some redesign of cricketing helmets.
Truly tragic and I would liken the situation of Sean Abbott to someone who has knocked down and killed someone in a car accident through no fault of their own. Put in that situation I know that I could never drive again and I doubt that Sean Abbott will ever be able to bowl another cricket ball. This also got me thinking about other recent sporting accidents, Michael Schumacher who by all accounts is in a vegative state and wasn't there a footballer recently (whose name escapes me), who did a somersault and broke his neck ?
Fully agree with all that has been said. In a strange way it makes you wonder whether safety equipment can be counter productive. In years gone by batsman just got out of the way of a bouncer unless you were a nutter like Brian Close and I cannot recall the death of a batsman before. Since the widespread use of safety helmets batsmen have been far more likely to stand up and have a go at the short pitched ball although having said that I am not fully aware of the circumstances of Phil Hughes being struck. I did see him bat when I was in Adelaide last year - he wasn't in for very long but quite clearly he was not in the Geoffrey Boycott mould!!
I believe Schumacher came out of his coma recently? From the press announcement, it sounds like it was an extraordinarily unlucky freak accident to rupture the artery. Only 100 cases ever recorded.
Shocked by the news this morning. As Cromer said, thoughts too for the bowler, how does anyone get over somehing like this?
It really is! It graphically evokes the best of human spirit. Regarding this terrible accident; I know this particular injury was considered to be highly unusual, particularly the splitting of the artery, but I must admit I'm not totally surprised that there has been a serious head injury resulting in a death in a cricket match. Commentators refer to "head music" as a legitimate way to unsettle batsmen with bouncers, plus there have been some very close shaves for certain fielding positions, e.g. the "silly" positions. The former situation requires the batsman's skill to avoid being hit badly (which nearly always is OK), the latter requires the fielder's anticipation and ducking (again which nearly always works). But they do occasionally get hit. I'm sure there'll be a lot of discussion about ways to minimise the risks in future. It's not obvious how they could improve helmets to prevent this happening again but still allow free movement of the head and avoid overheating. I'm sure we'll see some options come through, maybe some sort of lightweight but tough neck veil just to absorb some impact energy - who knows. Anyway, let's hope this never happens again.
Think that says it all Dave - really, really tragic incident, and harsh as it might sound, Hughes has sadly gone, but the bowler has got to go on living with it. R.I.P
Don't follow cricket so I'm afraid I don't know of this gentleman, but it's always sad when tragic accidents like this happen, so thoughts are with his family and friends. As those above have said, it's impossible to know how the bowler is feeling. That caricature was very moving. Here's hoping he gets all the help he may need. My thoughts too, as an avid F1 fan, are with Jules Bianchi, who is still unconscious after his terrible crash at the beginning of October.
It's absolutely dreadful news, complete freak occurrence and my thoughts, like so many peoples, are with his family right now and also with Sean Abbott who must be feeling just awful. RIP
With Schumacher and Bianchi, the last 12 months haven't been great for F1 fans. Both have at least made it out of artificially-induced comas, but Bianchi is still unconscious and the latest reports on Schumacher suggest he's wheelchair bound, unable to speak and suffering memory problems (although the secretive nature of the family mean none of that is official). Absolute dreadful news about Phillip Hughes, and cannot imagine how awful Sean Abbott feels. As an aside, haven't seen you around the F1 board much Gandy?
I spoke to my Son in Adelaide last night - what I didn't realise was that Sean Abbott was one of his oldest closest friends. Can you imagine what he is going through?
Good point DH. I really must pop across and see what's going on. Trust me to leave it until the season is over!
