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Access: Phillip Hughes: a personal reflection

13 Responses

  • Hilary Stace,

    Thanks Matt. So well expressed.

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Miche Campbell,

    Thanks for the reminder that it's healthy to allow somebody to go through the grief process from the other end, too. Of course Shane Abbott is going to be thinking it's his fault Phil Hughes is dead; that's a normal and natural thing in this kind of circumstance.

    Dunedin • Since Feb 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Susan Snowdon,

    Thank you Matt. This is such thoughtful and kind writing. So nicely put.

    Since Mar 2008 • 110 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Thanks, Matt. Some feedback from a disabled athlete for you.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    That’s core to cricket and shouldn’t be reduced say by banning the bouncer

    Why not? It's a cowardly act whose intent is to maim or worse. Maybe we should re-introduce spear tackles to rugby.

    Note that the Blackcaps nearly killed a Pakistani cricketer a couple of weeks ago, any reaction in NZ?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Don Christie,

    Why not? It’s a cowardly act whose intent is to maim or worse.

    That’s just nonsense, Don. You’re seriously claiming that a bowler who delivers a short ball is intending to kill the batsman?

    The ability to vary the length of a delivery is integral to the game.

    Hughes wasn’t intimidated by the ball that killed him. He was trying to hook it to the boundary, got through the shot too soon and was hit on the back of the neck. He was an aggressive batsman, playing the game.

    Maybe we should re-introduce spear tackles to rugby.

    That’s a terrible analogy. Spear tackles have never been a legitimate part of rugby, for obvious reasons. Bouncers are bowled many times in every test match. They’re an element of the contest.

    (On the other hand, it is illegal to bowl a full toss above the waist – a beamer – because the batsman doesn’t have enough time to avoid it. Bowlers also aren’t allowed to consistently bowl bouncers.)

    Note that the Blackcaps nearly killed a Pakistani cricketer a couple of weeks ago, any reaction in NZ?

    I presume you read this in Mark Reason’s clickbait column, rather than actually saw it. Reason’s characterisation of the incident is highly (and apparently deliberately) misleading, as if the New Zealand cricketers whooped and cheered over Shehzad’s prone body.

    Here’s the clip. They cheer at taking the wicket then see Shehzad is injured and gather around him. He, too, was looking to hook the ball, rather than avoid it – he was on 176 and flaying the bowling. It was a nasty injury, but the real concern is that the ball got through the grill of his helmet.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • WaterDragon,

    ."What’s the spirit in which we engage with questions around disability? We talk about values a lot in our sector, but I’m thinking after what I’ve seen in the last few days that spirit is something different"
    That last question you have asked is a good one

    Behind you • Since Jul 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason,

    Shane Abbott's grief: I suffered intensely the effects of a sudden death of a team member when I was the manager of the team.

    There are two unfinished two word sentences that haunt you night and day, week after week and on for an awful number of years.

    What if.....?

    If only.....

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Thanks Russell. I did see that video at the time. My concern was not so much with the immediate reaction but a total silence from the more general NZ cricket community about another near death incident.

    I did read that Reason article. It was pretty shit. Not because of the underlying points but because of the way he constantly wants to lay the sporting woes of the world at NZ's feet and twists facts to suit that narrative.

    I do love cricket, I was brought up on the Windies smashing England and loved them for it. But it was Lloyd and Richards that I particularly admired (although Joel "Big Bird" Garner was pretty amazing).

    That said, I still hate bouncers.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Don Christie,

    Thanks Russell. I did see that video at the time. My concern was not so much with the immediate reaction but a total silence from the more general NZ cricket community about another near death incident.

    I think that's a very fair point. It really wasn't mentioned.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Don Christie,

    That said, I still hate bouncers.

    It's an issue that goes all the way back to the Bodyline tour.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Imagine the regular grief and outrage if Forestry was an Olympic sport...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Rosemary McDonald,

    Dear oh dear!

    "maim", "aggressive", "flaying", "smashing"

    This is Cricket? Right?

    Waikato, or on the road • Since Apr 2014 • 1346 posts Report Reply

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