There is no denying the fact that Test cricket is all about witnessing a fierce contest between the bat and ball, but watching the batter getting hit on the head is not a pleasing sight. A quality bouncer is appreciated by everyone, but whenever a batsman gets hit, it make us remember the 2014 incident when Australia’s left-handed batsman Phil Hughes was felled by a short-pitch delivery.
Hughes was struck on the back of the neck by a fiery bouncer by Sean Abbot while batting for the West End Redbacks in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground on November 25, 2014, and this resulted in the death of the cricketer.
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A similar incident took place during Ashes 2019 when Steve Smith was hit on the head by a bouncer bowled by Jofra Archer, and immediately the batsman fell to the ground, sending the entire Australian cricket team in worry. Opening batsman David Warner has opened up on the recently-released documentary of the Australian cricket team titled ‘The Test’ on Amazon Prime Video.
Recalled the incident, Warner said, “When I saw him go down, we were all just like not again, not. Please it cannot happen.”
Apart from Warner, Australian cricketers Peter Siddle and Usman Khawaja also shared the same feeling after watching Smith laying on the ground after being hit.
They both recalled, “I think we were all in shock. I think the worst was when he was laying there. That was probably the scariest moment for us all. We never thought it would happen. Never thought you could get hit in the head and die from it. And that never crossed my mind, growing up, playing cricket, until it actually happened to Hughesy.”
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Steve suffered a couple of blows on day four of the second Ashes Test match against England– first on the elbow and then on the neck. He fell down after the second hit and was immediately attended by physios from both England and Australia.
Smith had an exceptional Ashes 2019 with the bat as he amassed 774 runs, scoring the most number of runs in a series this century.
