Cricketer dies two days after struck down by a cricket ball

Though cricket isnt very big in alot of countries, if you or your country are big cricket fans, this will be very shocking news. Australian cricket is deeply mourning the most tragic death of one of Australia's most respected cricket players today.

Phillip Hughes was batting in a test cricket match when he was unfortunately struck by a cricket ball in the neck, which eventually lead to a massive head injury. This was a rare and freak accident.

He died two days after he was hit.
He was 25 years old.

A timely reminder that even the young, fit and successful can't escape death.
May he rest in peace

Phillip Hughes (1988-2014).

And a timely reminder that head injuries can be really serious and are not something to take chances with.

peg said:

And a timely reminder that head injuries can be really serious and are not something to take chances with.

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Very true.
To be specific, this cricket player died from a subarachnoid haemorrhage. The ball that hit him was at about 140km/h (just over 86 mph) in the neck, which led to an artery splitting which lead to bleeding in the brain etc.
I'm not sure how fast baseball are pitched at but its not fun to be hit by a cricket ball- they hurt!

Since team sports make such a significant part of Australia's sporting culture, issues relating to head injuries is a very serious issue and always comes up in the news during the winter months when contacts sports like rugby league, rugby union and AFL are on.

GF2445 said:

Very true.
To be specific, this cricket player died from a subarachnoid haemorrhage. The ball that hit him was at about 140km/h (just over 86 mph) in the neck, which led to an artery splitting which lead to bleeding in the brain etc.
I'm not sure how fast baseball are pitched at but its not fun to be hit by a cricket ball- they hurt!

Since team sports make such a significant part of Australia's sporting culture, issues relating to head injuries is a very serious issue and always comes up in the news during the winter months when contacts sports like rugby league, rugby union and AFL are on.

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In the Major Leagues, most pitches are over 90mph. My husband's cousin is a Major League pitcher who regularly reaches the 99-100mph range on his fastball. Only certain types of pitches (breaking balls, change-ups and the very rare knuckleball) will clock in under 90mph on a radar gun.

Most Major Leaguers have learned to get out of the way if a ball is coming for their head, but hits to the head do happen. One of the most famous relatively recent one was when Roger Clemens hit Mike Piazza in 2000 with a fastball well over 90mph. He was diagnosed with a concussion and missed several games afterwards.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFScJX1Sf_g

I don't know what MLB's policy for head injuries is, but I've never seen a player not be removed from the game. A player named Ray Chapman died in 1920 twelve hours after being hit by a pitch. It resulted in some rule changes including pitchers not being allowed to put substances on the ball. They used to cover it with dirt, spit and anything else to make it move differently and make it harder for hitters to see. Oddly enough, even though there was a call for batting helmets after that happened, they didn't make them mandatory for another 30 years.

Also, it's not just hits by balls, it can be any head injury. Recall Natasha Richardson died after sustaining a head injury while skiing.

THe NFL has also considered the impact of head injuries. While the players do wear helmets, they still suffer concussive injuries just from the impact of the 'hit's. Even so, the rules are murky at best. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/01/11/bernstein-nfl-concussion-policy-is-ridiculous/

Phillip...

*falls apart again*

karne said:

Phillip...

*falls apart again*

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I know. I know. Remember to take a photo of your cricket bat if you have one...its a trending twitter thing... I think...

GF2445 said:

I know. I know. Remember to take a photo of your cricket bat if you have one...its a trending twitter thing... I think...

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I did. I don't have a full-sized one anymore, but I took one of a small autograph bat. #putoutyourbats

I was not familiar with him at all, but this is very tragic news. Gone way too soon. RIP, Phillip.