RIP Phil Hughes - Australian cricketer dies, aged 25, after being struck by ball during game

[Ax^]

Very sad and in a way, a shock. With the state of modern medicine you kind of expect people to emerge from these situations, even if with a significant disability. RIP.

As said it is only one of 100 reported cases of this type of injury, disecting the main artery of blood supply to the brain is going to lead to more catastrophic damage than swelling from a direct brain injury.

Not that you can call the 2 f1 drivers lucky but still

Quite surprised this sort of injury is not more prevalent in hurling but it's a different sport altogether.

Rip and sympathy to the bowler

 

[paulhackett]

There's a baggy green been left at the Grace Gates.. very moving.

 

[Lo Siento.]

very very sad. RIP

 

[paulhackett]

Here's the baggy..

 

[rubbershoes]

Will Sean Abbott ever be able to bowl again?

The press attention has rightly been on Phil Hughes but Abbott has to live with this. It's not as though he did anything wrong either. It's not like a bad footie tackle that ends someone career

 

[butchersapron]

Will Sean Abbott ever be able to bowl again?

The press attention has rightly been on Phil Hughes but Abbott has to live with this. It's not as though he did anything wrong either. It's not like a bad footie tackle that ends someone career

The kids 22. Phil Hughes sister apparently spent hours and hours with him yesterday. It all looks like it's being done right.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Really very sad and upsetting. RIP Phillip Hughes.

I've read Abbott is being given counselling and I hope its of the very best because regardless of whether he plays again or not, he has to come to terms and find some sort of peace with what's happened.

I saw the footage on the day I heard he'd been hit and it's not clear due to the fact it runs at full speed and cuts and skips. It looked as though what Nick Compton said is correct in that he was through the shot too early and perhaps realising this turned his head slightly. It's been described as a hook shot but it's really more of a pull and i dont think his weakness against the short ball is really relevant in this instance.

It crossed my mind how we have a way of venerating sport and sports people into something it, and they are not. Sadly it takes a tragedy like this to remind everyone it's ultimately just a pretty pointless game people play for fun, that gives others enjoyment.

 

[purenarcotic]

Horrible story, RIP to him. Thoughts to the poor guy who bowled the ball as well, must be an awful thing to try and come to terms with.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Made all the harder that Abbott and Hughes were good friends.

 

[starfish]

A horrible thing to happen for all involved.

 

[goldenecitrone]

I heard this on R4 this morning. Shocking. I'd heard the reports of his injury the day before. Terrible for someone to die playing the sport they love. I'm reading a book about boxing at the moment and eyewitness accounts of one boxer winning a fight and celebrating, only to find that his opponent hasn't got up and medics are heading to the ring. And celebration turning to concern and anguish. Thoughts to his family and the poor guy who bowled that ball.

 

[redsquirrel]

RIP terrible accident.

Best wishes to Abbott too

 

[Mumbles274]

#putoutyourbats

 

[gabi]

The Pakistan-NZ game sounds really weird. They should have abandoned it. Those stadiums in the UAE are weird enough without this. A young bowler picking up 7 wickets and not even celebrating.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-new-zealand-2014/content/current/story/803959.html

 

[JTG]

 

[gabi]

Jesus. Looks like McCullum is taking out his anger or sadness on the Pakistani bowlers. Absolutely smashing them out of the park from the get go. No celebration on his century though. Fastest by a kiwi in history.

 

[gabi]

Now the fourth fastest double century in history. Crickets all over the place at the moment.

 

[JTG]

I like Martin Crowe here. Don't change the way the game's played, but change the spirit of it

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/805163.html

 

[gabi]

I admire the sentiment but personally I don't want to see aggression removed from the game. There's nothing more enjoyable in world cricket than watching the likes of Mitchell Johnson charging in and delivering a bouncer at 90 mph. Likewise, as a former keeper myself, it was part of the game to unsettle a batsman for behind the stumps.. I wouldn't like to see these things removed from the game.

Martin Crowe was my idol as a kid, and he was always a very fair player. But I think he might be wrong here.

 

[JTG]

I don't think that's what he's saying is it?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I've long hated all the sledging etc. But let's face it, fast bowlers do want to intimidate batsmen. And the problem with MC's article is that, from all accounts, the ball that killed Hughes had none of the things he's complaining about. It was a well-directed throat-high bouncer from a bowler who isn't lightning quick.

Personally, I don't want to lose that from the game. Boycott urging bowlers to get it in the throat area, and he knew exactly what it was to be on the receiving end. It may feel a little early to be saying this, but cricket needs to keep its nerve. This was a freak accident.

I didn't comment on the day as it felt wrong, but Agnew the Twat got it all wrong as usual on the day Phillip Hughes died, his piece on the radio saying how cricket 'had to change'. He should have kept his bloody gob shut for a bit, waited for a bit. The day after is not a day to be making decisions about anything.

Ask Agnew what he thinks then do the opposite is a pretty good rule of thumb.

 

[JTG]

On a wider note, we can also learn that the game needs to calm down. I wrote in the Wisden Almanack this year that the tone of the game is in need of a serious retuning. You can't say publicly that an opponent has scared eyes, that you have got them cornered just because you have the mean, nasty fasty on your team, winging it down at maximum speed. This is not the uncouth WWF or heavyweight boxing. You should be respectful. You can't threaten an opponent to get ready for a broken arm.

Removing the lip, that negative intent, is what we can learn. By all means bowl bouncers with skill and precision, but take out the angst and hate, the sledging and the media barbs, and just go out and express your version of your courage and skill for your team. Show the youth of today the right way to play the game respectfully, hard and fair. The game has turned too lippy, too edgy. Let's chill a bit in general, as a good lesson and reminder, to keep the game authentic.

He is not saying what you think he is saying.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

But what I'm saying is that this is all very well, but it wasn't a factor in PH's death. There was no malice in the intent behind the delivery. This was cricket being played correctly but it still happened.

 

[JTG]

Nobody is suggesting it was

 

[littlebabyjesus]

ok, well I can agree with him to a point. And if this does lead to an end to the stupid unpleasantness, that's very good. There already are teams that don't play like that. India and Sri Lanka don't play like that. If it gets the likes of James Anderson to wind their necks in, that is good. But let's face it, genuine quick bowlers do try to physically intimidate batsmen, and many of them do it with a snarl.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The Pakistan-NZ game sounds really weird. They should have abandoned it. Those stadiums in the UAE are weird enough without this. A young bowler picking up 7 wickets and not even celebrating.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-new-zealand-2014/content/current/story/803959.html

I think they made the right decision, tbh. They didn't play the day after, which was right, but at some point we have to carry on.

Looks like Aus's first test will be abandoned. It was due to start the day after the funeral, which is maybe too close. It's going to be harder for the bowlers than batsmen, I think. Batsmen can just go out there and react as before, but bowlers set up the play, and at some point they are going to have to try out a bouncer bowled as fast as they can.

 

[Teaboy]

I like Martin Crowe here. Don't change the way the game's played, but change the spirit of it

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/805163.html

I largely agree with the sentiment here. It's a terrible thing that has happened and of course the design of the protection should be looked at, we should always be striving to improve that, however one thing that can be improved now is the way the game is being played.

I'm not talking about aggressive fast bowling, that is part of the game, it's important for the bowler to use every weapon in his or her artillery. I'm talking about the chatter both on and off the pitch, it has increasingly moved beyond mere banter to genuine nastiness and beyond the bounds of what should be acceptable in sport, in this sport, as this incident should remind us it is only sport.

I think the recent Ashes series have shown how bad things have got; some of the comments from both sides on and off the pitch were beyond the pale. I've noticed that sort of behaviour has now become the norm in league cricket as well here in the UK and one of the reasons I've jacked it in. In my last couple of seasons the comments, banter and wit of the past have given way to non-stop abuse and every match seemingly on the verge of a punch-up.

There will always be space for a well-timed comment, a little dig to get into the mind of the batsman or indeed bowler but outright abuse and threats have should have no place in Cricket. If anything good is going to come out of this horrible event it should be that we are reminded of the high stakes game we are playing and what we say and how we conduct ourselves should reflect that. There are some things which are more important than sport and we all have a responsibility to play the game how it should be played, with respect for the opposition and the history and traditions of the game.

 

[gabi]

Another interesting opinion here. Again I can see the point but I also sort of disagree with it. I don't want aggression taken out of cricket.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/63759297/Reason-Hughes-death-highlights-hypocrisy

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Another interesting opinion here. Again I can see the point but I also sort of disagree with it. I don't want aggression taken out of cricket.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/63759297/Reason-Hughes-death-highlights-hypocrisy

Good reminder that people are killed playing cricket, that it's nothing new. I agree with the sentiment that some people being killed are deemed more important than others.

As for Clarke regretting what he said to Anderson? Well Anderson should shut the fuck up himself. And fast bowlers do sometimes aim for the body, not the stumps. It's just being honest when the likes of Thomson say they enjoyed their task. I remember watching England v Windies at the Oval, with Curtly Ambrose steaming in. The West Indians in the crowd applauded a nasty bouncer more enthusiastically than wickets. Curtly looked like he was enjoying himself.

 

[gabi]

Jimmy is a dick, that's undeniable. But yeh, it's pretty rich of Clarke to be leading all these tributes to Hughes after that little run in. And that's probably only the tip of the iceberg.