Re: RIP Phil Hughes : Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:25 pm  

I see an Israeli umpire has died today after being struck by a ball. Terrible luck, another one in a million moment.

Re: RIP Phil Hughes : Sun Nov 30, 2014 11:15 pm  

My only problem with the bouncer is when its used against tail-enders. Even at Test level there are some really hopeless batsmen out there, and their ability should be taken into account, as they're far more likely to end up turning away from the ball and getting in a bad position.

I watched Mitchell Johnson bowl at England at the Gabba last summer, and whilst officially he only bowled one 'bouncer' per over, almost every delivery was at high chest or shoulder height. I did read some commentary about that being something umpires can and should stop against tail enders, but nothing came of it.

Re: RIP Phil Hughes : Mon Dec 01, 2014 3:17 am  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

Ironically, the helmet probably contributed to the tragedy.... In the days of no helmets, the hook shot was a lot less utilised by batsmen, simply because batsmen were more aware of the dangers involved in playing the shot. The skill in facing a short ball was as much about avoiding the ball, as actually playing a shot to it.

Nowadays, nearly everybody plays the shot, even the less talented tailender, because they have the 'shield' of their helmet and other protection - Witness Stuart Broad taking one in the grill this summer.

It was a complete freak accident though and it would be massively misguided to make some knee-jerk reaction to this incident .... Instead, it should just make batsmen look at their own technique and make them realise that simply hooking in a gung-ho style is not the way to go and they should learn the art of defence.

This
Couldn't be more spot on if you tried..basically describing risk compensation..the very same thing happens with helmet wearing in cycling at all levels from pros downwards..