I don't care whether this becomes an official part of the game or not, but the next cricket match I go to, when one of the players reaches 63 not out, I am going to stand up, close my eyes and think of a belligerent, talented Australian cricketer, who lost his life playing the game that millions love.
A fifty's nice. And I will always clap a century. But for me, for now, for ever, 63 is the number to mark. I will spare a thought for the little man, when someone reaches that score.
RIP Hughesy
What a great tribute, albeit a silent one to this young man !
Get the feeling that cricket may never be the same - bowlers might not have the same desire to try to 'knock someones head-off' - its going to be a tough few days for the teams playing overseas, like England. Feel so sad for Hughes family and also Abbott. All those times when Garner and Marshall and Croft and Holding and all the others bowling close to 100 mph were bowling to batsmen with no helmets - just makes me shudder. I always remember Nick Knights comments when he faced the very first 100mph delivery from the Rawalpindi Express that 'he didnt even see it' - scary. And they say that cricket is played by wimps .
That delivery that Knight got from Akhtar was a strange one, it was clocked at 100mph+ but Knight played it quite comfortably into the leg side, that was in the 2003 World Cup.
i heard rumblings that the speed gun was fiddled to overread because the south african cricket association/the organisers wanted the first 100mph delivery to be at their world cup.
I think shoaib was doping at that point as well.
I would love a 63 to be a "hughesy", whether officially or unofficially amongst his aussie team mates. That would be nice.
Goes without saying that this is a very very tragic outcome. The vast majority of us have all played sports, nearly all of us not at a professional level to experience the pace of the game or ferocity of play that the pros do but an elbow to the head, a cricket or hockey ball to the head at short distance, a collapsed scrum............ There but for the grace of God do we go. RIP Phil.
A few things that have been suggested down here. Whether any of them will happen is anybodys guess.
1. When any batsman reaches 63 he waves his bat to the sky 2. The first test in a series to be known as 'Phil's Test' 3. Hughes to be named as 12th man in the first test against India. It is rumoured that if Clarke doesn't play in the first test, Hughes would have been named to bat at No 3
I rather like number 3. It makes him a current test player, rather than a former test player.
This #putoutyourbats tribute on twitter is incredibly powerful and moving
I started looking at #putoutyourbats had to stop and will wait till I get home or I'll be in tears in the office. As you say incredibly powerful tributes from all and sundry.
Surprised that no one has said that the whole idea of short pitched bowling should be looked into -the game has evolved in a way where it has become acceptable to intimidate batsmen rather than bowling at the stumps which is what was originally intended.
Bodyline bowling was effective (in getting wickets) but was outlawed as it was deemed unsporting - what is the difference between that and delivering bumpers aimed to rough batsmen up and unsettle them?
If deliveries were made illegal over shoulder height say then it would definitely change the game - but would it really be for the worse? You would need to adopt more guile as a bowler and it would encourage more spin and medium pace / swing to give you a chance when the pitches didn't suit the quickies.
There is very little variety in bowling attacks nowadays and a change like this may actually make the game more interesting.
Just a thought
He is the first professional batsman to die from being hit on the head since 1870. The specific injury he died from has only ever been reported 100 times for anybody and he is the first cricketer. I really do not think we should be overreacting,however tragic this is.
Surprised that no one has said that the whole idea of short pitched bowling should be looked into -the game has evolved in a way where it has become acceptable to intimidate batsmen rather than bowling at the stumps which is what was originally intended.
Bodyline bowling was effective (in getting wickets) but was outlawed as it was deemed unsporting - what is the difference between that and delivering bumpers aimed to rough batsmen up and unsettle them?
If deliveries were made illegal over shoulder height say then it would definitely change the game - but would it really be for the worse? You would need to adopt more guile as a bowler and it would encourage more spin and medium pace / swing to give you a chance when the pitches didn't suit the quickies.
There is very little variety in bowling attacks nowadays and a change like this may actually make the game more interesting.
A very sad incident but cricket is not going to change because of it and nor should it. Emotions are understandably running high in light of this tragedy but awful things happen in all walks of life.
In the A League football last night, the crowd stood and applauded at the 63rd minute. Very moving. This is going to be repeated at the remainder of the games in this round.
From what I understand of it, it really is a very long odds situation. Not only was he hit straight in the head, from a fast ball, but even given that it is STILL very unlucky that he suffered the freak injury that he did. I don't think you can blame fast bowling, or poor equipment or anything other than pure chance for the tragedy.
A slightly (black) humourous comment from Simon Hughes in article in BBC saying that he once 'headed' a bouncer from Neal Radford flush on the forehead straight back to the bowler for him to pick up and walk back to his mark for the next ball. Just a freak accident.
With personal loss over the last few weeks I've been more aware than usual of how mortal us humans are. This is tragic beyond words really. A total freak accident, along with Phil Hughes' family I have been thinking a lot about Sean Abbott and how the poor guy goes forward. I'll be clear I'm absolutely not saying one persons loss of life is any better or worse than another's but this accident is incredibly sad
Taking sporting rivalry out of the equation at a time like this, from what I've seen in the media, Michael Clarke has been an absolute rock for the Hughes family, Shaun Abbott & the entire Australian cricket family in recent days. Credit to him
Read today that Hughes family has been in touch with Shaun Abbot to offer their support to him. I think that is a magnanimous gesture considering the turmoil they must be experiencing at this sad time.
There are a few stories like that. One I heard this morning was that in Junior cricket this weekend, players normally retire at 50 but it was changed to 63 for this week only. One lad was on 62 when he was out, but the bowler called him back and said he had overstepped the mark and it was a no ball. The kid got one more run and retired........
Comments
Sleep tight, Phil.
I think shoaib was doping at that point as well.
I would love a 63 to be a "hughesy", whether officially or unofficially amongst his aussie team mates. That would be nice.
1. When any batsman reaches 63 he waves his bat to the sky
2. The first test in a series to be known as 'Phil's Test'
3. Hughes to be named as 12th man in the first test against India. It is rumoured that if Clarke doesn't play in the first test, Hughes would have been named to bat at No 3
I rather like number 3. It makes him a current test player, rather than a former test player.
Just a freak accident.
I'm not even a cricket fan, I can't understand (nor do I want too!) the sport but for this to happen from a game.. Just gutting for everyone involved.
RIP Phil Hughes.
Not the best week for cricket
R.I.P
https://twitter.com/CarlyW226/status/539906138376916992