Early today morning, Phillip Hughes, the 25-year old Australian cricketer who was hit on the back of his head by a bouncer while batting, passed away.
He was hit behind his left ear by a bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott, and fell unconscious on the ground soon after.
According to the press release issued by Australian team doctor Peter Brukner, "He never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday”.
Condolence messages started pouring in from
cricketers across the globe, and the whole cricket fraternity stands shocked and grieved at this unfortunate incident. Phil would have turned 26 this coming Sunday, and was also in line for being named the Australian captain for the upcoming India-Australia test match series.
Sean Abbott, the young cricketer who bowled the unfortunate bouncer is being closely monitored and is being given counselling and psychology support, for the peace of his mind.
On this fateful day, we can’t help but remember all the other cricketers who died because of
on-field injuries. Here is a list:
1. Raman Lamba The first name that comes to our mind is of Raman Lamba. He suffered a head injury while fielding a ball hit by Bangladeshi batsman Mehrab Hossain. The ball hit him directly over his temple, and he slipped into coma due to internal hemorrhage. Three days after he was hit, he died. He was 38 at that time, and was critical for 3 days before passing away.
2. Abdul Aziz The Pakistani cricketer was struck on his chest when he was attempting to hit a ball. He collapsed on the field and died on his way to the hospital. He was just 17 at that time.
3. Darryn Randall A South African first-class cricketer, he died in 2013 after being hit on the head by a ball during a match. Randall, a right-handed batsman, was 33 at the time of his death.
4. Ian Folley Born in England, Folley died after being hit underneath the eye, following which he had a heart attack and could not recover. He was 32 and was playing for Whitehaven at that time.
5. Zulfiqar Bhatti This promising Pakistani cricketer died after he was hit on the chest by a ball, which caused his death on the pitch itself. Bhatti, 22, was representing Super Star Cricket Club in a match against Sindh Young Cricket Club, both local teams of Pakistan.
6. George Summers An English cricketer, his is the earliest case of an on-field injury resulting in death. He died in 1870 after being hit by a short delivery from bowler John Platts and was carried off the field; he, however, was not taken to the hospital because he seemed to recover. This, although, proved to be wrong. He died four days later because of the injury, and was 25 at that time.
Image courtesy: TimesContent
