In sport, danger does not deter the brave

The horrific blow to Phil Hughes’ head has put the cricket world in a sombre mood. It is in such terrible incidents that the danger of action sport is stressed the most. The sympathetic response to the life-and-death struggle of one sportsman is perfectly understandable because the sporting world simply relegates the thoughts of danger to the hinterland of the mind even as the rollercoaster of the everyday world of sport operates in every field, including contact sports like rugby, gridiron football, soccer, ice hockey, field hockey and many more. 

 

Modern medical practices, most of all in brain and limb reconstruction surgery, offer a reassuring feeling of security to sportsmen. The pain of sporting injury may be horrible, but at least it can be endured as opposed to having a whole career put at risk from injury as used to happen to sportsmen of preceding generations. In days of yore, the loss of a kneecap in a hard tackle could mean the end of dreams for young men in contact sport. Today, there is a ray of hope, also to be seen in improved safety of sporting equipment.

 

Cricket balls are hard and they travel fast, very fast. Impact can hurt. Batsmen have lived with it for centuries, aware that it is ultimately their skill that gets them out of the way of danger. The skilful are adept at avoiding the threat of a leather sphere travelling at 150 kmph, although it is not as if the top order batsmen do not get hurt. In recent times, even the most skilful of openers like Justin Langer have been poleaxed by the ball slipping through the grill of the helmet.

 

The Hughes incident was particularly tragic as he had looked composed while batting on 63. As a top order batman with a somewhat unusual technique, he might place himself in some awkward positions against the moving ball. But never was his skill in doubt when standing up to the fastest bowlers. On hard Australian pitches, batsmen survive on their skills, footwork and instinct in getting out of the way of the projectile. It is the fate of lower order batsmen that is often in peril, especially when they bat on to cause injury to the ego of the faster bowlers. 

 

The Masuri helmet is what is worn by most Test and international batsmen as it offers comfort as well as protection. Hughes was wearing one of those but the ball seems to have slipped under the radar as it were and thudded into him through the rear of the grille and below the back of the shell, missing his Masuri Original Test model helmet. “While such products are being continuously evaluated and improved upon by the manufacturers, no design will eliminate risk completely. “This is a vulnerable area of the head and neck that helmets cannot fully protect, while enabling batsmen to have full and proper movement,” the manufacturer’s statement read.

 

In today’s cricket, there are no heroic figures like Viv Richards who batted without a helmet throughout his career. His career may have begun in the pre-helmet era, but he frowned upon it later too when he had a choice of using it. Brian Lara realised early on his chances were far better at the crease with a helmet on.

 

The picture of a young Lara, batting in a county cap and stepping out to drive Kapil Dev in St. Kitts in 1989 is still fresh in the mind. By giving in to common practice, the Trindadian accepted good advice. Our prayers go out to Hughes who we hope to see back on the cricket field. It may take an age to recover from such trauma but it is not impossible as the brave Langer demonstrated. If he stages a comeback, it will send a message to the young that while sport can be dangerous, it is not necessarily to be feared.