Reply to: Phil Hughes RIP

[TykeMerc]

Australia being a land of sports fans has a way of showing respect, quite touching really.
BBC Sport - Phillip Hughes: Australia united in grief after batsman's shock death

[Bunk]

I don't know how accurate Bunk's statement was - in any case (as has been stated previously) this very much was a freak accident, and it's unlikely that any modern-day helmet worn by batsmen at a competitive level would've prevented this injury.

People calling for the bowler to be banned from the game are uninformed IMO - it is a perfectly legitimate tactic to bowl short and induce the batsmen to play a false shot and/or lead them to play a false shot further down the line.

Neither do I to be honest. I'm just going by what I heard some of the ex-cricket players saying on the radio (can't remember exactly who said it, might have been Darren Gough).

People seem to want to blame someone or change something. Sometimes crazy things happen, and you can't try to legislate for them because you won't be able to prevent the next crazy but different thing from happening. It's different to F1 where there is a much larger inherent danger in the sport, and there are always ways to make it safer. The Jules Bianchi crash is a good example of something where people are right to say "how the hell was this allowed to happen".

[Bunk]

By the time the helicopter was there, the ambulance was there, the doctor had already provided treatment and travelled in the ambulance with him. The helicopter would have been slower than using the ambulance.

Yeah, not surprising. Like I said, the ground and the hospital are pretty close. I reckon an ambulance could have come from the hospital, picked him up and been back at the hospital within 10 minutes.

[DigitalUser]

If that is true then it's on the players head if they get injured or worse.

I don't know how accurate Bunk's statement was - in any case (as has been stated previously) this very much was a freak accident, and it's unlikely that any modern-day helmet worn by batsmen at a competitive level would've prevented this injury.

People calling for the bowler to be banned from the game are uninformed IMO - it is a perfectly legitimate tactic to bowl short and induce the batsmen to play a false shot and/or lead them to play a false shot further down the line.

[TheFaQQer]

True, but the SCG (where the match was being played) and St Vincent's Hospital are pretty close so shouldn't have taken too long. I also saw a photo of a helicopter which landed on the pitch but I'm not sure if it was used or not.

By the time the helicopter was there, the ambulance was there, the doctor had already provided treatment and travelled in the ambulance with him. The helicopter would have been slower than using the ambulance.

[TykeMerc]

I saw the news this morning, great shame when someone dies to this sort of freak accident.

[Bunk]

In this case, unless there was a operating theatre and serval skilled neuro/vascular surgeons in the ambulance, the time it took to arrive didn't matter.

True, but the SCG (where the match was being played) and St Vincent's Hospital are pretty close so shouldn't have taken too long. I also saw a photo of a helicopter which landed on the pitch but I'm not sure if it was used or not.

[Unix]

The ambulance in the UK is normally St Johns Ambulance though if the event is larger you can get some doctors. However all they do is provide first aid and will call an ambulance if there is an emergency. If your event is not near to a hospital/ambulance station so at least paramedics can get to you then it's tough.

In this case, unless there was a operating theatre and serval skilled neuro/vascular surgeons in the ambulance, the time it took to arrive didn't matter.

[SueEllen]

Quite sad but on the news this morning they stated that it took a long time for the ambulance to get to the cricket ground which I find surprising as every sporting event, concert, festival, etc. there is always an ambulance in attendance so don't they do this in Australia?

The ambulance in the UK is normally St Johns Ambulance though if the event is larger you can get some doctors. However all they do is provide first aid and will call an ambulance if there is an emergency. If your event is not near to a hospital/ambulance station so at least paramedics can get to you then it's tough.

[DaveB]

Well only top class cricketers in the modern game (last 10 years) can bowl at these speeds, so although it's a miracle it hasn't happened before, it's down to the number of event's being relatively low. Statistically, it will happen again many times if the helmet isn't modified and as fast bowlers get faster.

No really true. Fast bowling as it is today really started in 1933 with the body line tour. Helmets came into the game in the early 70's.

There is no easy way to find numbers for domestic matches played but there have been ~1900 test matches played since 1933. An average match involves around 3000 balls being bowled. (100 overs per day , 6 balls per over for 5 days). Thats 5.7M balls bowled just in test matches and none of them caused this injury. Add in the numbers bowled in domestic matches and that number is going to go up by orders of magnitude.

Hugh was the third cricketer to die as a direct result of a blow to the head since 1870 and there have been only 12 recorded deaths of players and officials during a match in that time. More people have died of heart attacks during a game than from being hit on the head.

This really was a freak accident.

[d000hg]

If that is true then it's on the players head if they get injured or worse.

But when you need split-second reflexes, anything which encumbers you increases your chances of getting hit dramatically. So then is it better statistically to get hit a lot on the helmet, or just once on the neck?

Are professional cricketers actually calling for changes to be made, or are they happy it was such a fluke nothing needs to be done except mourn the loss?

[darmstadt]

Quite sad but on the news this morning they stated that it took a long time for the ambulance to get to the cricket ground which I find surprising as every sporting event, concert, festival, etc. there is always an ambulance in attendance so don't they do this in Australia?

[mudskipper]

If that is true then it's on the players head if they get injured or worse.

Boom boom.

It's balancing risk vs benefit - you wear a seatbelt, but if wearing full body armour was more likely to protect you in an car accident, would you choose to do it?

[Bunk]

Many thousands of people die in car accidents. Why don't we ban cars?

I don't think anyone is suggesting we ban cricket.

[DodgyAgent]

Think the top of the neck on an artery. I agree it is unlikely to happen every game or even every year. I have never crashed but I always wear my seatbelt, think about it.

Many thousands of people die in car accidents. Why don't we ban cars?