Tom Fordyce has written an excellent article about why a sportsman's death can be felt so painfully whilst many others go relatively unnoticed. I would like to echo those sentiments and write about my own thoughts regarding 25 year old Phillip Hughes' shocking death that has engulfed the cricketing world and beyond.
First, though, I would like to extend my sympathies to Hughes' family and friends and to the many Australian cricket fans who also mourn his passing. Sean Abbott is also in my thoughts as there is no way to describe what happened than anything other than an accident. A 'freak' accident if you will. It's not an easy incident to get over but it looks as if the entire community are right behind him and have offered him their full support in these troubling times.
Tom draws parallels between Hughes' death and that of Ayrton Senna two decades ago at Imola. Adrian Newey, best know for producing Championship-winning McLaren's and Red Bull's, was chief designer at Williams at the time of the accident. Twenty years later, it still haunts him. Senna's death, and that of fellow F1 driver Roland Ratzenberger a day earlier, marked a sea change in the safety of Formula One cars that has resulted in no deaths since that fateful weekend.
That's not to say that there hasn't been incidents and accidents since then. Jules Bianchi is still in hospital in Japan after his Marussia came off the track at Suzuka and collided with a rescue crane while it was removing another car that had crashed into the barriers at the same corner. Five years ago, Felipe Massa was seriously injured when suspension spring from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car came off on the entry to turn four at the Hungarian Grand Prix and hit him on the helmet roughly an inch above his left eye. He would not return until the beginning of the following season, some eight months later.
In rallying, former Formula One driver Robert Kubica was involved in a serious accident whilst at the Ronde di Andora rally. After a seven-hour operation, and two further operations, he was still never able to get back to racing in F1 again due to the partial severing of his right hand.
To be honest, they're not that comparable. The world of 200+mph racing is far removed from the slightly slower pace of Test Cricket. This is probably the reason that there's more shock globally at the death of Phillip Hughes. He was only 18 months older than I am, at the peak of his career. A wonderfully talented opening batsmen, he really came to everyone's attention in July 2013. In what was a real see-saw of a match and one of those classic Test Matches, one moment shone through. Debutant Ashton Agar came two runs short of maiden century, for Australia, in the Ashes, in England, batting at number 11. His partner for what was then a record 10th wicket stand? Phillip Hughes. A calming influence at the other end of the wicket, Hughes guided Agar through his innings and constantly gave him encouragement. A true professional in the best sense of the word.
As with Senna's death in '94, the safety of the sport has been called into question. Almost immediately, England captain Alastair Cook said that the sport has never been safer. This is the case, as it stands. There has been a redesign of the helmets and, although there are still areas of the head that are exposed, these are the most safe design style without losing any of the batsmen's vision, which would be even more dangerous. It all goes back to the circumstances. Senna's death was preventable had the same safety standards we have today been enforced. In cricket, as many people have said, the bouncer is something the fast bowler has in his armoury, The short-pitched ball delivered once every two or three overs just to unnerve the batsmen and disrupt their rhythm is something that we have all come to enjoy watching. Removing that would make cricket a dull game to watch. Generally, a bouncer is followed within the next couple of balls by one that is going straight on the stumps or a teaser just off or just leg that the bowler hopes will be edged to one of his teammates waiting at slip or leg slip.
An accident. A freak accident. There have been 100 cases in history of what happened to Phillip Hughes, with only one of them resultant of a cricketing injury. It is a shame that someone who still had such a long and potentially prosperous career ahead of him will not have that opportunity and there's nothing that we can really learn from the incident. It's just a senseless waste. I really feel for Sean Abbott as well. I just hope that in time he can return to the sport and make a name for himself once more.
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