#360view: Call off first Test to help players recover from tragic loss of Phil Hughes

Ajit Vijaykumar 11:24 29/11/2014
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  • Tribute: the death of Phil Hughes has united the Cricket world.

    It has been an utterly shocking few days for cricket. The death of Phillip Hughes has plunged the cricketing and sporting world into deep mourning.

    At 25, Hughes had his best years in the game ahead of him and, judging by the outpouring of grief across the cricketing community, he was a deeply popular and much-loved player, and not just within his own dressing room. 

    Furthermore, the fact the incident occurred on the field in front of team-mates and fans, creates a resonance all of its own.

    Hughes being struck on the head by a bouncer and falling face first, to never get up again, is an image that will not go away.

    The worst fears in every cricketer came true and batsmen and bowlers all over the world will now be looking at the game in a whole new light. 

    Fast bowlers are supposed to intimidate batsmen and the latter are expected to cop a few blows to the body. 

    But will a pacer hurl a short one on a quick surface with the same venom anytime soon? Will a batsman go for runs off those deliveries? I don’t think so. At least not for a considerable time.

    For the players involved in that tragic Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, life will never be the same again.

    Losing a team-mate in front of their eyes will leave some deep psychological scars and they will need counselling and close management to deal with it.

    Which brings us to the big question about the first Test between Australia and India in Brisbane on Thursday. 

    India’s second tour game has already been called off and there is a growing view that the first Test between the two nations must be cancelled to allow players and those involved with that catastrophe time to recover.

    I feel it’s best to not play the first Test. And there is a simple reason for that. 

    Four players who are members of the Australian Test squad – David Warner, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson and Nathan Lyon – were playing in that Sheffield Shield match in which Hughes lost his life.

    They witnessed the tragedy unfold and still must be coming to terms with what happened. 

    Hitting boundaries, taking wickets and setting the field for Indian batsmen will not be on their minds at all. 

    You can’t expect the players to take a call on the first Test.

    The best way forward would be for both Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India to themselves call off the first Test and let the players continue with the grieving process.

    Now, some or all the players might come up and say that they want to go ahead and play the first Test as a mark of respect for Hughes, but, with so many emotions at play, such a game will not be a competitive Test match. 

    The second Test is scheduled for December 12 in Adelaide and that will allow players additional time to take a call on whether they want to take the field or not. 

    But as things stand, they should not be asked the question about playing the first Test at all.

    Once more time has passed, we can then think about sport.

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