Aussie cricketer in critical condition after being hit by bouncer...

It is part of the game, this is just a freaky accident.  Honestly how often does it happen in the age of helmets?  I can't think of any serious injuries though I guess there might be some.

I don't think there have been any fatalities, but then it's a relatively modern tactic that became more widespread.
The object is about getting the player out by bowling within a region close to the stumps.
The head isn't that close

It has been around for yonks.  maybe Bodyline was more aimed at the body than the head.  But certainly in the 70s and 80s the Windies were aiming at the head.  And perhaps earlier than that with perhaps Hall, Griffith, Tyson?

Absolutely
But simply to say the lack of casualties is endorsement isn't logical.
So if he dies do you say well it's only 1?
The body line tour was and still is controversial and rightly so.

You wish Warner was in hospital fighting for his life? That is one of the worst things I have read on here.

Give over with the feigned offence taken.  The way the beeb first announced it this morning was that it was an aussie cricketer was in a serious condition having been hit by a ball.  At that point the damage was done, someone was in trouble.  Better it be someone that is a total @rsehole like Warner rather than one of the good guys.

rob dylan grow up mate.

To be fair Rob I think most people's initial thoughts were hoping its not serious and the cricketer in question was going to be ok.

Rob seems to be the helmet on this thread.

Get over yourselves man, even the jehovas witness at work laughed when I said the same thing this morning.  Of course I wish Hughes well and I'd've wished Warner well if it had've been him.

Thinly veiled i have a job thread.

That's made me chuckle Angel!

Sad stuff about Hughes but as he's a battling Aussie I hope he'll recover quickly.

lol @ "the age of helmets"

All the best to Hughsie.

I wonder if the introduction of helmets hasn't made batting more dangerous. On the whole both bowlers and batsmen used to be more aware of the dangers of a ball aimed at the head before helmets. I am pretty certain no player has ever been killed batting in a test,helmet or no helmet. Larwood fractured Oldfield's skull ( non-fatally ) in 1932-3 but that was an ordinary length ball to which the batsman got a top edge.The worst injury and the one that hurried the widespread use of helmets was when Ewen Chatfield was hit on the head by a Peter Lever bouncer in 1974-5. That I think would still have been seen as bad form then as Chatfield,a bowler,was a fairly hopeless batsman. Two first-class players have been killed in relatively recent years whilst fielding, Lamba and Foley though I believe both were playing in league matches at the time.

Boycotts an absolute prat but you have to admire him in the old days,batting against the likes of Hall & Griffiths no helmit & wearing glasses.

have a look at Brian Close facing holding here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60GAhXvU90k

the truth is, as many of the old school commentators say, is that before helmets, the surest way not to get hit was to watch the ball as it went past your nose. with helmets many batsmen can take their eye off the ball in the knowledge that the helmet will protect them if they miss. I think there is a question whether current helmets are fully fit for purpose though.

as i said on the cricket forum, of course the major concern is for hughes' health, but we should also be sparing a thought for sean abbott. i wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Dustybin: the whole point of bowling a bouncer is NOT to hit the batsman. You want him to avoid being hit and be able to fend it away with glove or bat and give a catch.

If you do hit him, then 999 times out of a thousand he simply faces the next ball and you've wasted a delivery (and a hell of a lot of energy).

nah
I dont accept that.
While partly true that getting a glove is ofc part of the attempt but if it wasnt a well aimed head ball they wouldnt get in a flap trying to avoid it as theyd never get out leaving balls so far off the stumps.

the point being they need to target the head for them to avoid or attempt to defend from it, with the added bonus of rattling them if they do get hit, and or fall onto stumps

I've always thought the beamer should automatically be penalised if not by 10 or 20 runs to the oppo then say 1 or 2 hours where the bowler can't bowl or both.  Brett Lee used to do them so often it wasn't even funny.  Either he was purposely cheating or he was simply so out of control that he was a danger to the oppo - either way you should be getting some serious punishment for it.

brett lee did that circus show where he actually made piers morgan look good, which is an achievemnt I never thought Id see

Have to disagree screaming, there are instances when you bowl a bouncer that you are looking to encourage the batsman to hook but imho the bouncer is generally intended to intimidate and roughen the batter up.The helmets need looked at imho, this instance and the Broad one where the ball got through the grill suggests they are not fit for purpose.

uhh, he didn't make piers morgan look good.  It did show up Brett Lee's mentality though having no mercy on a defenceless batsman.  Mind you if it was MOrgan in hospital now I wouldn't be wishing him the best.

morgan carried himself with dignity unlike lee who bowled 6 no balls for the crowd

Morgan?  Dignity?  The good ship dignity sailed yonks ago where he's confirmed.

well he stood up and wore 6 no balls without moaning while the professional succumbed to a baying crowd

Biscar Two from a mile back 25 Nov 14 13:42 
Have to disagree screaming, there are instances when you bowl a bouncer that you are looking to encourage the batsman to hook but imho the bouncer is generally intended to intimidate and roughen the batter up.The helmets need looked at imho, this instance and the Broad one where the ball got through the grill suggests they are not fit for purpose.

and harmison to ponting, and broad to flynn. it happens again and again. in particular the protection around the temples seem massively inadequate, which is exactly where hughes was hit.

There used to be a law against " intimidatory bowling ". Is this still current and if so is it always enforced ? In proper cricket I mean not the one day rubbish.

*is it ever enforced

i think(but not sure) intimidatory bowling was only stopped if it was against a tail ender who couldn't defend himself.  A bit like Johnson v Anderson last winter.

The umpires barred Somerset's Jamie Overton from bowling in their game vs Notts at the end of last season. And that was against international-class batsmen.

He got a mandatory warning after bowling a beamer at David Hussey. When he followed it up with two bouncers in a row at Michael Lumb, his captain was told to take him out of the attack for intimidatory bowling.

Trescothick took Overton's cap from the umpire and chucked it at him, while Hussey and Lumb went on to a double-century partnership on a slow wicket.

Awful thing to happen and it's going to open a massive debate about bouncers. Personally I'd like to see it banned as it's pure thuggery and should have no place in the game.

Sadly didn't make it.
Tragic day for cricket

RIP

Terrible news.

Ball hit vertabrel artery leading to brain on side of neck
Blunt trauma crush and split leading to large bleeding into brain.

Usually immediately fatal

Probable youth, fitness and 'rapid' medical care gave him a very slim chance,
but alas not

simply awful, the chap who was the bowler must be devastated

Pakistan v NZ game suspended.  This will proper send shockwaves through the sport.

25

Awful,awful news. RIP.

So young. Family must be devastated.

Poor chap. RIP

RIP

There's a lot of rivalry between us and the Aussies but there will be solidarity over this.

Can't see how the authorities won't ban the bouncer for the forceeable with immediate effect until proven safe.

terrible news - tragic

Been listening to a lot of ex bowlers over the last few days and Dominic cork most recently miss the point.
There has now been death in the workplace, it's effectly out of their hands now.
Comparing it to Motorsport or horse racing is erroneous since the ball delivered is delivered by a human and therefore can be regulated.

Terrible news, of which I saw as it was breaking.

Such a very sad outcome to a freak happening.

Rest peacefully Phil Hughes.

Dreadful news.

An astonishing list of achievements with the bat for such a young guy. Those amazing centuries against Steyn and Morkel in Durban at the age of 20...

Also seemed a genuinely good Aussie bloke when I saw him in the field playing county cricket over here.

Looking at that Durban scorecard again ... what an epitaph:

http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/211/211457.html

115 and 160 in just his second Test against Steyn, Ntini, Morkel and Kallis at their peaks. Aus won by 175 runs.

ffs awful

Didn't realise this until I just checked.  Sean Abbott was 22 and made his T20 and ODI international debuts in the last couple of months.  I wonder what will become of him.

Probs develop the yips

I think the yips will be the least of his concerns.

Don`t like Cricket and know nowt about it but have heard of Phil Hughes and that is very very sad news to hear. 25 years old. RIP

I have absolutely zero interest in cricket but this is just awful news  dreadful for his family & friends & teammates, puts everything into perspective , may he RIP

couldn't believe this when I saw it in the news. What a tragedy.

Tragic news. Very nice of his sister to comfort the bowler who will be distraught for a long time.

a genuine tragedy, for both players, who were apparently good mates off the field

RIP

they will be teaching never to turn the head
just like they teach to never attempt to shield the head while fielding at silly point (incase your fingesr get shattered against the helmet)

Dr Brukner said that while it was worthwhile reviewing safety equipment and procedures, including helmet design, it was important to understand how extraordinarily rare such an incident was.

"This was a freakish accident, because it was an injury to the neck that caused haemorrhage in the brain," he said. "This condition is incredibly rare. It's called vertebral artery dissection, leading to subarachnoid haemorrhage - that's the medical term for it.

"If you look in the literature there's only about 100 cases ever reported, so this is incredibly rare. Only one previous case ever reported as the result of a cricket ball. So I think it's important to realise that yes, we need to review all our procedures and equipment, but this is an incredibly rare type of injury."

Awful, just absolutely dreadful to read he died.

Tragic news

RIP Only 25 too

Got to feel for the bowler Abbot too. Cannot imagine how difficult this is for him too.

i don't want to be devil's advocate here but in the midst of this awful loss of life maybe cricket needs to think on . i've seen quite  a bit of top class stuff at lords and similar . i've never been happy seeing a ball launched at a head . the stumps are some way down . i would rather have watched warne all day rather than a very tall bloke banging it into the ground with the prospect of intimidation ...football has virtually outlawed the tackle ( from behind )  that can possibly maim you,surely this 'bouncer'  is the equivalent ?

WN, it certainly needs looking at. Desperate stuff, to die playing a (ball game) sport. RIP.

Bouncers have one purpose, to be intimidatory and physically threatening, to the point of being unfair in the game.

There is an argument against short pitched intimidatory bowling, but itshouldnt be this tragedy that starts it.  This was a freak accident.  I hazard a guess that fielding close in(to a spinner) is as dangerous.

If not tragedy, what else will start the discussion?.

Short pitched bowling isn't always intimidatory or physically threatening.  It is also to dismiss a batsman by inducing a false stroke or in some cases to reduce scoring options in limited overs games or keep a batsman on strike at the end of an over.  To say it's merely used to intimidate is simplistic.

Umm, I dunno.  Fair point.  I do wonder whether fast bowlers around the world will think twice about aiming for the head in future.  Whether groundsmen will think twice about preparing fast bouncy wickets.  Whether fans will think twice about cheering, oohing and aahing when one of their guys sends the ball whistling past an opponents nose.  Just a thought should we look into outlawing short legs when a bowler is prone to bowling leg side long hops or do we wait until a fielder dies?  (I think one or two have died in this way.

Seems to me the discussion has started.