Death visited a batsman on the pitch in a tragic incident that no sport would wish it has to deal with. A shocked cricket world is currently struggling to cope with the demise of Phil Hughes, who never regained consciousness after being hit on the head.
The young and talented entertainer had a homespun technique that was unique at the batting crease but extremely vulnerable.
Often he made cricket resemble golf with his explosive lofted hits even as he fought the demons of the short-pitched ball.
The outpouring of grief and universal sympathy and love for him showed how the New South Welshman had conquered the cricket world.
The cricketer’s neck is unprotected by the equipment now available. The manufacturers will look at this in depth, hoping to find a way to protect the area because the game is played with a hard leather and cork ball that travels very fast, while administrators in charge of the laws of the game will debate greater controls over the short-pitched stuff, especially of the kind bowled to intimidate batsman into surrender.
It will seem for a while that life has changed, perhaps forever for the young fast bowler and former NSW team mate Sean Abbott whose ball felled Hughes. However, the game will, and must, go on.
One freakish accident cannot put an end to a sport played and enjoyed by millions. The game will remember Hughes fondly for he represented a gladiator at the crease.
If his death leads to greater safety standards, it would not have been totally in vain.
