It is now looking quite likely that the first Test in Brisbane, due to start next Thursday, will be cancelled and the series reduced to three matches.
As well as the obvious issues for the Australian sporting community, it would be unfair for India as their preparation (already hampered by the West Indies players walking out on them) has been disrupted with their final tour match (was to start today) being cancelled.
RIP Philip Hughes. Desperately sad news, especially given his age. From what I can gather almost immediately medical staff knew that he wouldn't pull through.
I guessed that he would not based on the news reports coming through early on Tuesday evening.
Are there helmets that could have protected Hughes though? (without being like armour)
We don't know if the newer model Masuri helmet would have made the difference.
Just because there are improved helmets being released doesn't mean that the players will replace the old ones every time a new model comes out, the choice of equipment is up to the players in most teams. The typical player will only replace their helmets when they take a hit, or when a change of team colours and/or badge is necessary.
The problem with trying to protect the back of the neck is that there's not much more which can be added to the bottom of the helmet without impeding the normal range of movement required for a batsman.
I do wonder whether Sean Abbot will ever be able to play again.
It will undoubtedly be a very long healing process. However, by all accounts it has gotten off to a very good start with the Hughes family reaching out to him along with a number of cricketers known to be very close to the family, including Michael Clarke.
He will undoubtedly have all the support in the world from the Australian Cricketers Association, Cricket Australia, Cricket NSW and certain senior teammates. This is an area where cricket in Australia is among the world leaders, and where there no rivalry between Australia and England - better to cooperate and learn rather than compete.
On the other hand, I do expect that this will prod a few of the more senior domestic players to retire a couple of years earlier than they were thinking before, especially those who have kids.
Although it is not the time for Sean Abbott to decide whether he can ever bowl fast again, I fear that the stigma would follow him around and he'd never be allowed to forget it, not that he would in any case, so it would I feel be most unlikely for him to return to his trade, as a tragedy like this does have colateral damage.
I don't think the stigma will follow him around. Everyone is well aware that it was a freak accident (only 100 cases of that type of arterial injury have been recorded in history, and this was the first one from a cricket ball) and that it was completely independent of his bowling style.
For a bit of background, Sean Abbott is not a true fast bowler like Mitchell Johnson or Dale Steyn, he's a medium-fast bowler who relies on variation like Stuart Broad. The 135 km/h delivery which hit Phil Hughes would have been his effort ball for the over, where 135 km/h would be a slower ball for a fast bowler like Johnson.
Maybe he'll come back as a bowler who works on a probing line and length instead of T20-style, more in the mould of Glenn McGrath or Shaun Pollock. I can't ever remember seeing McGrath bowl any higher than the chest, because he didn't need to.
Although it's a very sad day for Cricket, I still wonder why there weren't more injuries before the introduction of helmets?
With the exception of the Bodyline tactics, before helmets short bowling generally worked on an informal deterrence system. If a batsman didn't stand up and play shots against shorter balls, the fast bowlers wouldn't bowl bouncers to them.
There was also an informal agreement until around 15-20 years ago that bowlers didn't bowl bouncers to other bowlers when they were at the crease. This started falling apart around the time that specialist bowlers like Brett Lee and Shaun Pollock started turning themselves into decent lower-order pinch-hitters, and is irreversible now that bowlers like Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Broad regularly get genuinely useful scores in all forms of the game.
A consequence of professionalism maybe? Full-time cricketers have more time to work on the 'other' parts of the game than their predecessors who had day jobs, which would also account for the higher standard of fielding these days.
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