The show must go on

Looking at the larger picture and a peep into the sombre past shows that many more have died on the cricketing field and all of them have not been batsmen

A pall of gloom pervades almost all grounds across the cricketing world following the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, who on Thursday suc- cumbed to the neck injury he suffered off a bouncer from New South Wales pacer Sean Abbott at Sydney Cricket Ground in a first class match.

It is too huge a loss particularly for Australia, considering that Hughes had things going his way on the career front. In a world where ruthless competition exists in almost every known sphere of activity, everyone is driven by the compulsive attitude to emerge a win- ner, day in and day out. It is rather unfor- tunate that suddenly the cricketing world has woken up to the need to make the sport more safe and player- friendly.

For instance, Cricket Australia (CA) has sprung into action by asserting that they will launch a review into safety protocols and protection for players. This reaction, though needed, perhaps stems from an after-thought concern.

What has been emanating from the reactions by players and administra- tors since the tragic blow is that they all wish to make the sport more bats- man-friendly where protection of the man wielding the willow seems to be paramount while the fate of the bowlers, fielders and wicket-keepers take lesser precedence, which is rather unfortunate and uncalled for in a team sport like cricket.

Barring some for- mer bowlers, none has been talking of the devastated mindset Abbot is right now in. Looking at the larger picture and a peep into the sombre past shows that many more have died on the cricket- ing field and all of them have not been batsmen.

At a time when all are crying for more quality helmets, these gentle- men should remember that the game is over a hundred years old and pro- tections – headgears like helmet and all sorts of guards – have been recent inventions, colloquially speaking.

Many great batsmen have trod the cricketing grounds minus such pro- tective devises against dreaded fast bowlers who were feared for their thun- derbolts. For instance, Dennis Lillee has fa- mously mentioned that when he is bowling, the batsmen taking guard is his enemy number one. That was passion and not meant for any blood-spilling acts.

A quality batsman has the capabilities to make a dud of his fiery bouncers and beamers. That is cricket and getting hurt is part of the game and adds to its excitement. The player having a better application wins the day. But to make it even more bats- men-friendly is a tad tragic on the other specialists in the team.

What goes without saying is that one tragedy cannot change the equa- tions as the fans will throng the grounds and Hughes will be forgotten as has happened with all those poor souls who were felled while playing the game they loved. After all, cricket is by and large a safe sport and will remain so.