CRICKET MOURNS PHIL HUGHES
South Africa’s bowling coach Allan Donald hopes that cricket’s bosses don’t take the ‘bumper’ away from bowlers
LONDON: Distraught bowler Sean Abbott – who delivered the ball that felled Phillip Hughes – was seen leaving St Vincent’s Hospital in tears after the death of the batsman.
The 21-year-old, who plays for New South Wales, was bowling when Hughes collapsed at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday and was the first player to rush to his side.
Abbott tenderly embraced Hughes as medical officers rushed onto the field and an ambulance was called.
In the days after the acci- dent, Abbott has reportedly been struggling to cope and has received counselling and support from players.
On Wednesday, Abbott returned to the Sydney Cricket Ground for a team counselling session and was supported by teammates and team officials.
At the hospital yesterday, he was met warmly by his own teammates, friends of Hughes and cricketing greats such as Steve Waugh.
Looking pale and exhausted, Abbott arrived at St Vincent’s at 2.30pm. He left the hospital after learning of Hughes’s death, wip- ing away tears, with his head bowed and face hidden under his cap.
In the hospital’s coffee shop, where some of the cricketers had congregated, Abbott was given some words of advice from Waugh, while spin bowler Nathan Lyons put a comforting arm around his shoulders. He then had coffee with his teammates who comforted the young fast bowler.
All New South Wales and South Australian players are receiving counselling and psychological support in the wake of the tragedy. The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) said they were monitoring Abbott, and said he had support from cricket greats.
“(Abbott) has a lot of support from teammates and also the counselling services,” ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said.
Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland said it was a freak accident.
Former Australian bowler Stuart Clark said he understood Abbott was “struggling” and that it was not his fault. – Daily Mail
WHILE the tragic death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes will throw the spotlight on safety in the sport Allan Donald hopes it won’t lead to a revising of cricket’s laws in banning the bowling of bouncers.
Describing the incident as “stupidly freakish” Donald, one of South Africa’s greatest fast bowlers, and currently the national team’s bowling coach, says the tragedy should not lead the sport’s authorities into drastic reaction.
“I hope it doesn’t take this horrific incident to make the sport’s bosses think that the only way to make the sport safe is to outlaw the bouncer. It would make for no contest if bouncers were ruled out of the game,” Donald said yesterday.
Hughes, who would have turned 26 on Sunday, died in a Sydney hospital yesterday morning, after being struck on the neck by a bouncer bowled by 22-year-old Sean Abbott in a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday. “As a fast bowler, you use your bouncer to intimidate, to send a message to the batsman, to make him think twice and to test various skills,” said Donald. “I understand that many people outside of cricket will look at this and questions about safety will be asked, but we must not over-react.”
Donald said that one of the most important steps to be taken now is assisting Abbott, a young fast bowler still making his way in the sport, who recently played for Australia against South Africa in a T20 series. “(Abbott) needs all the support that Cricket Australia can give him. He needs counselling because right now, he’ll be thinking it’s his fault and that is most certainly not the case. “There needs to be careful thinking about the treatment he receives before he can get back out on the park, if he wants to get back out on the park,’ said Donald.
As a fast bowler, Donald has been on both sides of the bouncer. In 2001, during a four day match in Benoni Donald was hit by two bouncers by Andre Nel and spent a weekend in hospital.
In one of the most famous incidents at a World Cup tournament, Donald, in the 1996 competition, bowled a bouncer that hit the captain of the United Arab Emirates, Sultan Zarawani, flush on the head. Zarawani wasn’t wearing a helmet.
“When I struck him I though I thought I’d killed him, (the ball) made just the most horrible thud when it hit him. I was just so shocked by his response … he just put his floppy back on and continued batting.”
The advancements made in helmet technology in recent years had added to the sport’s safety, though concussions remain a concern.
“You see guys get struck flush on the helmet, and the worst they come away with is concussion. This is just stupidly freakish because Hughes was struck below the hel- met, on the neck, in an area where the artery leads to the brain. It’s heart-wrenching. He’s so, so unlucky.
“The helmets they have these days are magnificent, I’m not really sure how they can make them any better,” Donald added.
Donald was unsure how players would react to Hughes’ death.
“It will affect everyone. How will batsmen react when they are bowled a bouncer? Will bowlers be worried about being the guy that lays out a batsman? It will be hard.”
There was an outpouring of grief from across the world yesterday, not only from cricketers, but sportsmen across various codes following the announcement of Hughes’ death.
He made his Test debut as a 20-year-old against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2009 and in the next match, became the youngest player to score a century in each innings as Australia won the threematch series at Kingsmead in Dur- ban.
“He blitzed us all over the park in Durban,” Dale Steyn recalled yesterday. “He was a genuinely great guy. The thing I remember is that he always had this cheeky smile on his face. More recently in Zimbabwe he was one of the first guys into the dressing room with us after the final match, to share a drink and a laugh with the guys.”