Phillip Hughes - One Year On

[Burgey]

An obviously tragic topic. One year on from the passing of Phillip Hughes, it's apparent his passing has had a pretty big impact on the game, not just in Australia but everywhere it's played.

Do you look at cricket differently since Hughes' passing? What do you think have been the effects on the game, and do you think they'll last or will the passing of more time see the way the game is played revert to how it was before?

 

[mr_mister]

it actually got me back into it after a long time not caring about

hughes was my favourite player ever since his debut series against SA and i'd usually turn off a test if he got out, and since he spent so much time out of the team I didnt follow cricket for a while

 

[Cabinet96]

It's hard to say. I guess a lot of people might self consciously not get as worked up on the trivial aspects of the game as much since. But tbh, I wouldn't say it's caused a significant change in the way the game is played. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bit sad/disappointing either.

 

[Gnske]

Wouldn't say the bouncer has been ruined but you get bloody concerned when you see stuff like Rogers and Morgan incidents happening.

Change of perspective I guess, especially when you look at some hits batsmen in the past have taken it now shocks me how close so many have come to getting hit in the same spot, Shehzad in particular is one lucky SOB.

Would be interesting to hear from some players how its affected batting in the game, given we've heard the bowling aspect from Johnson

 

[Daemon]

I'm just really surprised people still go out to bat with no helmet on in weekend cricket.

 

[mr_mister]

like i know the bouncer is part of the game but it seems silly to me when a bowler bowls a full blooded one at a batsman's throat then is suddenly all concerned when they inevitably get hit. what were you expecting? the low percentage play where they top-edge into fine leg's hands? You wanted to intimidate, well guess what you succeeded.

 

[Daemon]

like i know the bouncer is part of the game but it seems silly to me when a bowler bowls a full blooded one at a batsman's throat then is suddenly all concerned when they inevitably get hit. what were you expecting? the low percentage play where they top-edge into fine leg's hands? You wanted to intimidate, well guess what you succeeded.

..erm, trying to get a wicket, even if it is through aggression and intimidation, is very different from wanting to cause physical harm to a person.

 

[mr_mister]

i truly think if they were concerned about a batman's health they wouldn't bowl a bouncer

i don't mind the bouncer, but accept that hitting a batsman is a likely outcome when one is bowled


it's like of course they want the batsman to avoid getting hurt.. but they don't want them to get out of the way too easily then they look like a bad bowler who bowls harmless bouncers.

so what they want is the ball to narrowly miss their head by inches, near enough to intimidate but far enough to not maim. that seems silly to me. leaves a small margin for error

yes there is a slight chance of taking a wicket. but there is an equal chance of knocking them in the ribs

 

[Athlai]

i truly think if they were concerned about a batman's health they wouldn't bowl a bouncer

i don't mind the bouncer, but accept that hitting a batsman is a likely outcome when one is bowled


it's like of course they want the batsman to avoid getting hurt.. but they don't want them to get out of the way too easily then they look like a bad bowler who bowls harmless bouncers.

so what they want is the ball to narrowly miss their head by inches, near enough to intimidate but far enough to not maim. that seems silly to me. leaves a small margin for error

yes there is a slight chance of taking a wicket. but there is an equal chance of knocking them in the ribs

What a load of tosh.

 

[Cabinet96]

Yeah, I think the psychology of bouncer bowling is a pretty accepted thing which 99% of people who have bowled one would agree with.

 

[mr_mister]

What a load of tosh.

i expected a reply like this with no actual arugment. cricket fans can be a bit of a hivemind with this stuff


what do you think intimidation even is? the fear/threat of being hurt


sorry for the truth bombs, i know bouncers have been around for 100 years but they are dangerous. however without them the scale would be even further tipped in the batsman's favour so i understand their purpose.

but when i see a pace bowler look like he's just seen a ghost after striking a batsman with one i can't help but think what goes through their head. "No, how could this happen? I only wanted to make him think he was about to get hurt!"

 

[Daemon]

i expected a reply like this with no actual arugment. cricket fans can be a bit of a hivemind with this stuff


what do you think intimidation even is? the fear/threat of being hurt


sorry for the truth bombs, i know bouncers have been around for 100 years but they are dangerous. however without them the scale would be even further tipped in the batsman's favour so i understand their purpose.

but when i see a pace bowler look like he's just seen a ghost after striking a batsman with one i can't help but think what goes through their head. "No, how could this happen? I only wanted to make him think he was about to get hurt!"

You're right in that when you bowl a bouncer, you accept that there's a chance batsmen might get hurt. It's obviously not a desirable outcome, but that doesn't mean the bowler can't be concerned if he does actually get hurt.

 

[Cabinet96]

Also, actual bad injuries are quite rare. You don't tend to see bowlers looking too concerned if they whack a guy on the arm below the shoulder, or the stomach or whatever. It's only usually when the head is involved or the batsman shows signs that he's seriously hurt that bowlers will check to make sure he's OK.

 

[mr_mister]

yeah fair enough, fair enough regarding those last few comments. i'm still a bit upset about Phil which I don't think is as much of a 'freak accident' as people say. A miracle it hasn't happened more often. All it takes is a mistimed shot, a turned head, or a misjudged bounce of a ball. A ball traveling at 150kmph is always gonna do damage when hits the neck


the night it happened i was arguing with a friend's dad(a doctor) that players cop bouncers often in cricket and that the ball isn't as dangerous as you think, i said that he'll pull through. he was telling me not to get my hopes up and that he's most likely already dead. i tried to talk sense into him. yep


Fast bowler when batsman narrowly avoids a bouncer: *gives him a cold, menacing stare, similar to a boxer, as if to say you won't be so lucky next time*
Fast bowler when he actually connects: *falls to his knees, sheds a few tears, johnny cash's hurt plays in the background*

 

[wellAlbidarned]

i expected a reply like this with no actual arugment. cricket fans can be a bit of a hivemind with this stuff


what do you think intimidation even is? the fear/threat of being hurt


sorry for the truth bombs, i know bouncers have been around for 100 years but they are dangerous. however without them the scale would be even further tipped in the batsman's favour so i understand their purpose.

but when i see a pace bowler look like he's just seen a ghost after striking a batsman with one i can't help but think what goes through their head. "No, how could this happen? I only wanted to make him think he was about to get hurt!"

It might shock you but fast bowlers are humans with emotions who do occaisionally care about things

 

[mr_mister]

yeah no ****, the irony i'm trying to point out is that it's self-inflicted torture on themselves, it's actually a pretty preventable thing, but we need our tradition, bowlers need their bouncers and so the risk will always be there.

 

[OverratedSanity]

It might shock you but fast bowlers are humans with emotions who do occaisionally care about things

I think his point is fair in that many fast bowlers' personas involve the fear factor of being hit by a quick bouncer. They do care obviously but the fact that they put on a facade of being a brutal, dangerous bouncer machine is kinda weird if you think about it. I mean, Dennis Lillee used to routinely say to batsmen that he was going to knock their heads off and that they'd end up in the hospital if they weren't careful. It's great to watch obviously and an integral part of test cricket but it's also pretty silly that they put up this fake image of themselves of being brutal.

 

[mr_mister]

"get ready for a broken f***ing arm"

 

[wellAlbidarned]

next thing you're gonna be telling me wrestling is fake too

 

[OverratedSanity]

next thing you're gonna be telling me wrestling is fake too

Not fake. Predetermined. Although you could argue cricket is too.