IN a sport where horrific injuries are so uncommon, the blow to Phil Hughes' head in yesterday's South Australia v New South Wales match was a chilling reminder of the dangers of cricket and it shocked the sporting community in Australia and abroad.
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Cricket doesn't have any physical body contact like the codes of football played here and serious injuries are never going to be as common as they are in those sports, with cricketers mainly battling muscular strains while back problems are also common among bowlers.
But when Hughes was struck in the back of the head by a bouncer from Sean Abbott shortly before 2.30pm yesterday it reminded us all that there are always perils involved when standing 22m from from a bowler who is hurling a ball at you as hard as he can.
I've opened the bowling for almost as long as I've played cricket and while I'm not even near a genuine fast bowler in Dubbo let alone a bowler of Sean Abbott's pace, I have bowled bouncers in the past at batsmen in order to intimidate and possibly hurt them. It's part of the game.
But when a sickening injury like this occurs there can not be one part of blame put on the shoulders of Abbott.
Bowlers regularly bowl bouncers and batsmen are regularly hit by them but an incident like this is a tragic and freak thing.
People were quick to support Hughes yesterday afternoon but there must also be support for NSW all-rounder Abbott, as he battles with the reality of seriously injuring someone he more than likely considers a close friend.
At the time this article went to print yesterday afternoon Hughes was out of surgery but his condition was still critical. More news is expected today but the outpouring of emotion on social media showed how much everyone, not just those involved with cricket and not just people in Australia, was stunned and distressed by the news.
Hughes is one of the most talented cricketers in Australia and was a contender for the upcoming test series against India.
The conjecture over that test team, the news Australia recently became the number one one-day team in the world and the petty taunting between the likes of Michael Clarke and Dale Steyn matters little now as the game rallies around one of it's own.
Everyone now just waits for good news. The thoughts of us all are with you, Hughesy.
