m.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/30219440
A sad reminder of the role of luck in sport and in life. We feel for his family, of course, and for the players and umpires who were there when it happened, especially the unfortunate and blameless young bowler. Even for the helmet manufacturer; he may have been wearing a 2013 helmet but it's very unlikely a newer one would have helped.
I hope we can best commemorate him by continuing to play the game, and not getting sucked into Something Must Be Done. Especially at the recreational level, where the bowlers aren't that quick and the pitches not that hard, the chances of this being repeated are truly negligible. Yet I fear a rush of parents deciding the game is too risky, whereas the far greater risk is the sedentary life that sport helps them to avoid. I hope I'm wrong.
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I quite agree. Tragic though Hughes' death is, it seems to be generally agreed that it was caused by a freak accident, though I'm minded to suggest that if you start playing shots outside the recommendations of the coaching manual, there has to be an element of risk involved, because that manual does not simply exist to teach players how to play with aesthetic grace. Rather, it's the accumulation of many years of experience and hard knocks, and it's there for a good reason.
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Yes, and since you've opened the question of technique, commentators - most notably Boycott, of course - have been suggesting for years that batsmen have been getting blasé about the short ball, turning the head away in the confidence that the helmet would save them if they misjudged it. I've seen only stills of what happened to Hughes, but it looked as if he tried to pull but played too early and turned his head away before the ball arrived. He was still massively unlucky that it hit the precise spot it did.
The 11-year-olds I coach won't have to face anything like that - although the occasional beamer livens things up at that level - but I will be reminding them that watching the ball all the way is the best way to stay safe. And that they're still in more danger in the car on the way to the game.
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I'm inclined to agree that Boycott isn't far off the mark. The dawn of T20 has seen batsmen become extremely inventive, whilst bowlers have become increasingly restricted.
Point to ponder; if Hughes had been hit there once, he may well have been hit there before playing a similar stroke to a similar ball. Previous blows may well have caused lesser damage and then this one, effectively, was the final straw.
I do by the way agree that it was still massively unlucky, and it is to be hoped that cricket does not suffer a knee-jerk reaction from the sort of people who try to ban conker trees.
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>> I do by the way agree that it was still massively unlucky, and it is
>> to be hoped that cricket does not suffer a knee-jerk reaction from the sort of
>> people who try to ban conker trees.
It wont, its recognised this was just a freak accident. As said, is better to keep your eye on the ball tho.
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>> It wont, its recognised this was just a freak accident. As said, is better to
>> keep your eye on the ball tho.
>>
Sadly Z we both know better. I'm willing to bet that at least one anti-competitiveness cotton-wool nannying freak tries to ban the hard-ball game in schools as a result of this.
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I think you're right but I'd like to bet there will be some parents who demand it too.
I don't agree with it at all, but these days parents seem to want to wrap their children in cotton wool.
Pat
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>> Stuff like this load of hyperbolics won't help:
Yeah, I mean cricket pitches all over the world are littered with the dead bodies, killed while playing the game.
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>> Yeah, I mean cricket pitches all over the world are littered with the dead bodies,
>> killed while playing the game.
But, but ......
That's evidence..........
When did public opinion, particularly fed by media sensationalism, need evidence.
Lots of people will tell you cycling, never mind cycling in a big city, is too dangerous to contemplate and certainly not without a helmet/hi-viz etc. In fact of course your chance of death or serious injury on a bike is proximate to that of a pedestrian.
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Despite the forum thinking I'm anti cyclist Bromp, I'd like you to know I've spent the last 2 days writing a 3 hour section into my new course about HGV's and avoiding accidents with cyclist in London:)
TFL caused me some problems trying to link a video though!
Pat
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>> Despite the forum thinking I'm anti cyclist Bromp, I'd like you to know I've spent
>> the last 2 days writing a 3 hour section into my new course about HGV's
>> and avoiding accidents with cyclist in London:)
Glad to hear it Pat. I wasn't thinking about forrumers particularly; there were some comments at my 'What's Driving US?' session yesterday about cycling being too dangerous to contemplate.
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Mustn't get thread drift on this one, but a lot of my drivers have opted to go on the course instead of points and all have said how good it is and that they have learned something.
But they do report they don't get as many fag breaks as they do with me!
Pat
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Doesn't make you pro-cyclist, Pat - just anti-paperwork.
};---)
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Too true WdeB, cant stand insurance forms!
Pat
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Not just cotton wool nannying freaks, I'll bet you see a drop in the amount of short stuff in the short term. Nothing that will last of course, but a more than a few quicks will be winding it back a bit especially at pro level.
I think the lad that bowled the delivery was his friend as well, god knows what state he's in. What a terrible thing to happen.
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Phillip Hughes's final innings has been adjusted to show him being 63 not out after an update from Cricket Australia.
It might seem like a little thing, but it's an important distinction," said CA chief James Sutherland. "Phillip will forever remain 63 not out."
His innings will now be officially recorded as an unbeaten 63.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/30267168
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Phil Hughes - Harleyman
