Dubbo Junior Cricket Association president Lindsay Wood said he was pleased with the current match regulations in place, which required all batsmen under the age of 16 to wear a helmet.

"In regional areas the rules are slightly varied, but all junior players must wear a helmet when playing against a hard ball," he said.

"Hughes' accident on Tuesday was a unique event."

Mr Wood said during his long term involvement with the sport, he had seen very few similar incidents.

"The last time I saw something that extreme was in the 1980s when Geoff Lawson was wearing a helmet without a grill and ended up with a broken jaw."

He said players in both the competitive and friendly nature needed to remember their health and safety should always come first.

"Although it's not a contact sport, these things can happen."

"Tuesday's accident was tragic for all involved," he said.

Batsman Phillip Hughes underwent surgery at St Vincent's Hospital to a critical head injury suffered at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

He immediately underwent surgery after arriving at hospital, with doctors working to relieve pressure to his brain.

Hospital staff said it would not be known how successful the procedure would be for at least 24 hours.

A St Vincent's Hosptial spokesman said Hughes was in a critical condition and in an induced coma.

Yesterday afternoon there had been no reported change in Hughes' condition.