Death of a Gentleman

It's a warm November afternoon. Another unsuspecting Sheffield Shield match is taking place, with little crowds and TV audiences, more of a platform for hopefuls to grab the national selectors' attention. Sean Abbot of South Australia is steaming in to bowl to his Australia teammate and friend, Philip Hughes. He delivers the ball. Clunk! The ball hits Hughes' bat and gently rolls to one side. There is a look of calm determination in his eye: he has been dropped from the national side, and he knows that he has to force himself into the talent-bag that is the Australian cricket team. Abbot runs in again, Hughes taps the ground with his bat in anticipation. One. Two. Abbot delivers the ball. It slams into the pitch. Hughes turns his head as the ball comes speeding towards him. There is a quiet thud as the ball collides with the back of his head. It all goes silent. There is a dull sense of fear in the air. Players quietly tread towards Hughes, who lies motionless on the ground, like little children approaching a stranger. Then, there is the first sound that awakens viewers from their trance. The wicketkeeper shouts loudly for the team doctors. I, an 8-year-old boy, was sitting on the sofa, watching this footage hours after it happened. The news reporter then solemnly says that Hughes died in hospital from his injuries. My heart sank, I never knew this man, I had never even heard his name before, but I knew that this was wrong, he shouldn't have died playing the game I knew and loved.

A few minutes later, I see Michael Clarke, the Australian captain, walk out and sit at the press conference table. The cold white flashes of the cameras illuminate the tear-drops in his eyes. Clarke tries to speak a few words but breaks down after a few lines. His team manager comes and comforts him by putting his hand on his shoulder. I couldn't fully understand the scale of the situation, but, somehow, I knew cricket would never be the same again. 

There is a saying: "Life goes on". And despite the trauma in the cricketing world, we did not stop for one man's misfortune. However, things were different. Earlier, when someone was hit, you would commend the bowler for a great delivery. Now, commentators grimace when a bouncer so much as passes near the head. Cricket is a game that has survived many events, including two world wars, but there was a lingering sense of worry that this could happen again.

Many people tried, and failed, to make a difference. Full face shields came into fashion, and almost immediately went out of it. Some proposed banning bouncers. But, no matter how much anyone said they cared about players' safety, nothing had changed from that tragic November day in 2014.

Then, almost out of nowhere, came a breakthrough. Stem guards. They were worn on the back of your neck, as an attachment to your helmet. This was the first time the cricketing world saw something that could really change the danger in the sport. But, rather than making it mandatory for all players, cricketing boards decided to take a laissez-faire approach, giving the players the choice to choose protection over comfort. Now, this sounds good in reality, but players often don't value the seriousness of the risk. It's a matter of life and death. Sometimes you have to make someone do what's good for them, even if they don't want it.

And so we were back to square one. Players swaggering around with their minimalist helmets. The death of Philip Hughes was a distant memory, almost forgotten. And the cricketing world kept going, not stopping to think for one moment, "Are we doing enough to protect our players?". The 2019 World Cup passed, with no issues. We were all living in the illusion that this can't happen again, surely not?

And then comes the Ashes, probably the most hostile series in the world. If anything was going to happen, it was going to happen now. The clash of the titans began, and I was watching intently, now a very different and much older boy than the one who watched Hughes go down in 2014. This is a series that captivates you, building suspense for the big moments. And, in one match, this suspense led to what we all had been dreading.

It's the Lords Test match. Archer is running in, slamming the ball into the pitch. Smith, Australia's best batsman, is dodging and weaving deliveries like a boxer evading punches. Archer runs in again. I lean closer to the TV. I can hear my mum calling me, but that can wait. My eyes follow the ball, into the pitch and rising into Smith's elbow. "Ohhhh!", Smith groans in pain. I grimace: I knew this was only the start. Smith was clearly struggling with his elbow, all the while trying to protect himself from the sheer pace of Archer. A few deliveries later, his partner, who had dwindled into insignificance, defends the last ball of the other bowler's over. None of that mattered, not their names, scores, wickets, nothing. The whole atmosphere had descended on these two, Smith and Archer. Archer is back in now, bowling to Smith. The crowd whispers in anticipation. Archer runs in. My hands reach for my face. I cover my mouth in fear. Archer bowls, into the pitch, the ball rises off a length, Smith tries to evade, the balls rises further, it hits him. It hits him. The ball speeds into the back of his head and he's down. He's down. There is a quiet hush in the crowd. The wicketkeeper calls for the team doctor. Not again. I think of that day in 2014. I don't know what the thought is in that Australian dressing room but I knew there are thoughts of Hughes. Smith is up. Smith is up. My heart lifts. "He'll be fine," I say to myself. I watch intently as Smith slowly walks back to the dressing-room. I breathe a sigh of relief.

But it was then I knew that something had to be done. Something needs to change in cricket, we can't allow this to pass unnoticed. The risk, even if it is minuscule, is there, and there needs to be changes to minimize it. We have the technology and equipment. So why not use it? Yes, more and more players are using stem guards. Yes, awareness and knowledge about concussion are increasing. But there is work ahead. We cannot allow another death of a gentleman.

This article is a tribute to Philip Hughes (1988-2014)

Blog by the Cricket Badgers

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