Almanac Cricket: Cure for concussion? Get rid of the lid…
Will Pukovski is a prodigious batting talent. We may never know how good he is due to his ongoing issues with concussion. The same with Kurtis Patterson.
Concussion has become a major issue in cricket over the past decade, to the point where the game’s governing body has changed the laws to allow a full replacement for a concussed player. Prior to this a concussion injury was treated like any other injury, where the 12th man may field for the injured player but not bat or bowl.
Currently at the MCG Trent Copeland suffered a rather innocuous injury to his left leg running in to bowl his third over. The long standing Laws of Cricket state he cannot be ‘replaced’ and NSW are reduced to 10 batters and bowlers. Jon Holland was hit in the helmet by Liam Hatcher, yet the Vics are entitled to a full replacement under the concussion protocols.
Holland wasn’t the only batter to get sconned. James Pattinson was also hit whilst batting, but was cleared to continue. Should soft tissue injuries be treated the same as concussions? Perhaps not, but how has concussion become so prevalent in cricket lately?
Unlike our football codes, where concussion is a natural by-product of the nature of how the games were designed, Cricket is a non body contact sport where since the innovations of World Series Cricket protective equipment has vastly improved. Prior to this thigh pads were not in existence. Most former first class batsmen from before this time have all undergone hip replacement surgery due to the blows they endured.
The one constant of the game internationally contested over three centuries is fast bowling being a danger to the batter’s welfare. Whether it be Fred Spofforth, Syd Barnes, Stratham, Bedser, Larwood, Tyson, Wes Hall, through to the post World Series fast men, fast is fast and it takes great dexterity and skill to face up to this class of bowling.
It’s not just head injuries. I knew a player who was playing in the Penrith local competition who was hit in the chest while batting. The impact upset the electrical rhythm of the heart and he collapsed and died on Jamison Park. Another player suffered in the same way in Dubbo in the ’80s. Batting has always carried a risk.
Not even during the bodyline series did the necessity of the situation bring about the introduction of the batting helmet. Only once in that constant barrage was a batter hit in the head. Yet today, hardly a Test or Shield game goes by without such an incident.
Why has it now reached a comparable pandemic in the game? It comes down to how today’s players have been coached for the past 20 years. From the mid ’90s I know of very talented batters who were told they would not progress in the game if they didn’t start wearing a lid. Steve Waugh never wore one during the ’89 Ashes.
Traditional coaching to face a bouncer was if the ball is on or outside your off stump you could attack it by cutting through point, or pulling across to mid wicket. Defensively you would just lean back and let the ball pass through to the keeper. If the ball was coming at your body or outside leg stump, you were taught to move back and across with your feet so now your head was inside the line of the ball, you can play the hook shot, but if you miss it, the ball would pass harmlessly past your ear to the keeper. Defensively, you would lean forward or duck to avoid the contact.
Think of the famous footage of England’s batters narrowly avoiding serious injury facing a rampant Michael Holding in 1976. They took plenty of body blows, but all knew how to move their feet and head.
Today, kids are taught to ‘get in behind it’ with many a hook shot today played right off the front of the batter’s face. The kids are told to not worry about getting hit as they will be protected by their helmet. This false sense of bravado has now gifted us a second generation of player who knows no different.
Justin Langer was the most prominent batter whose career was punctuated with repeated blows to the head in the late ’90s, and each year since many more have succumbed.
The game hasn’t changed, but coaching mentality has. It is a radical plan, but be assured, if a modern batter is sent out there without a helmet, basic survival instinct will see a significant improvement to the footwork and technique of playing the short pitched ball.
Even with the improved design of helmets, it’s only a matter of time when we will have to face the prospect of another Phil Hughes incident.
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About Wayne Ball
Tragic fan of the Australian and NSW cricket teams (for those of you outside NSW, there is a difference, despite what David Hookes said). Not a fan of T20. Penrith Panthers are the only club of decency and all which is good in Rugby League, the Waratah's were once the national team of Rugby Union, the first non Victorian team in the VFL/AFL is the Sydney Swans, and they all enjoy my passionate support. Sings for Wanderers. Internationally, I have been to see the Oakland Athletics and Green Bay Packers play. One day, I'll see Norwich City play for the FA Cup at Wembley.
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Wayne, you’ve demonstrated that the prevalent mentality was changing from ‘play each ball on its merits’ to ‘dominate the bowling’ even before T20 emerged. Clearly the demands of the shortest format – with its emphasis on power hitting – has exacerbated the changes in technique and mentality.
The generation who were upping the ante on scoring in the late 1990s/early 2000s had played a lot of junior cricket without helmets – consequently I can’t imagine that ten year old Ricky Ponting was receiving the same coaching in 1985 that, say, Will Pucovski was receiving in 2008.
Cricket’s concussion issue is all of its own making. No one advocates for faster speed limits because modern cars have side-impact protection, driver airbags and seat belts – no one should be advocating for batters to put themselves at risk against bowling that should be better respected.
One aside: the next frontier for cricket safety is that of in-fielders, bowlers and umpires whose reaction times are reduced by the current well-sprung bats and power hitting – which itself is a revolutionary step away from cricket’s traditional emphasis on timing.
Wayne. I have for some time advocated for the removal (banning) of the helmet for all non limited over cricket. Batters ( I don’t like the term either but . . . ), fielders, umpires. The limited over game (16.3333, 20, 40, 50) there is a case for using helmets as scoring is the first priority. Test, first class and local 2 day contests it should be banned in my view. The duty of care is on ALL participants, including the bowler. You will get a more even contest, claw back some old fashion batting skills, and the umpires will be able to administer intimidatory bowling laws more clearly. None of this one, two bouncer limit etc. Will also limit the chirping in the field. Chin music, will have consequences.