Phillip Hughes

Very sad. The last thing you would expect when going out to bat.

http://www1.skysports.com/cricket/news/11061/9581202/cricket-mourns-phillip-hughes

An absolute tragic accident, and just 25 years old also!

RIP

RIP. A freak accident.

Very sad news.

Not only for Phil Hughes and his family but also for the poor bloke who bowled the ball.

Imagine having to live with that on your conscience.

Terrible news. His family must be devastated.
Let's not forget the bowler. He is in no way to blame,yet he must be in turmoil.
Very sad for all concerned. RIP.

So sad.

RIP.

A few years ago I turned up with the rest of my cricket team to play an away fixture in our Saturday County League against a club several miles away. When it was our turn to bowl, we were surprised to see every one of their batsmen wearing a helmet.......a rare occurrence at this level of cricket where most quick bowlers aren't exactly what you'd call life-threatening.

Towards the end of their innings we turned to our slow spin bowlers, and still the opposition came out to bat with helmets on, much to our barely-suppressed amusement.....until our main spin bowler could no longer resist mocking a new batter arriving at the crease wearing what we considered totally unnecessary protective headgear.

The batsman's riposte still chills even today: he looked straight into the eyes of our grinning mocker and calmly told him how, the week before, they had watched their best batsman get a top edge to a slow full-toss which he had been trying to pull for six, but it ricochetted into his unprotected face near the eyebrow and killed him despite frantic efforts to revive him on the pitch.

We were suitably chastened and shame-faced for having taken the piss.

Protective gear is there for a reason and should be worn at all times, as you know it may just save your life one day.

Wasn't Mike Brearley one of the first batsmen to wear headgear in test matches ? Geoff Boycott also wore a cap and nowt else.

I've only seen shitty footage but surely if it whacked him on the helmet it should have saved his life? They're clearly not good enough are they. As always someone has to die before they find out.

From what I can gather, he turned away from the ball and it went under the back of his helmet.

Apparently, as RT says, the ball hit him on the neck, rupturing an artery and subsequently causing a massive bleed on the brain.

According to the Aussie team doctor talking on Sky earlier, this is an extremely rare occurrence, and there have only about a hundred recorded cases world-wide.

Unlucky then. Poor sod. If there's been a hundred cases though maybe they should consider the design a bit more? Not sure how to do it so it's still wearable for playing in but some sort of extension on the helmet that covers the neck as well somehow? I see a lot of cricketers turn their back like that so it won't be the last casualty will it?

I was a bit vague there, not a hundred cricket-related deaths, a hundred in total, ever in the world.

I'm amazed it doesn't happen more often, if I'm honest.

It was surprising that Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh didn't kill anyone.

We all like seeing Broad and Jimmy sticking one around the head region against opposition batsmen.

Very very  sad news this, i feel sorry for everyone involved.

Brilliant article by Martin Samuel. Well worth a read.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2852418/Like-rest-sportsmen-Phillip-Hughes-built-superhuman-cut-random-brutal-blow.html

The photos of the body of Brian Close after facing Andy Roberts!

Sad day for sport a young man killed in his prime,in a freak accident.

Condolences to his family.

That's why all the furore over the body line series in the Thirties kicked off.

There were no helmets in them days and Harold Larwood bowled so the ball was whistling around the players ears and heads.

It was known as the Bodyline series.The method was very effective as the players only had the bat to save them self from injury,often getting cuaght at short leg or silly mid on.

Questions were raised in the Australian Parliament in Canberra.

However The Captain Douglas Jardine I think that was his name stuck to his guns and England took the Series.

Probably the most controversial in History.

I may be mistaken but the super fast bowlers of the West Indies in the 70's had players chasing new protection as bouncers at 90 mph plus flew by their heads.