THE tragic death of Australian batsman Phil Hughes on Thursday, following a serious head injury sustained during a Sheffield Shield game, marks one of the saddest hours in the history of cricket.

It is the worst incident of its kind since the death of former Indian opener Raman Lamba in February 1998 after he was hit on the temple by a cricket ball while fielding in a Bangladesh league cricket match.

Hughes, a dashing 25-year-old who played 26 Test matches for Australia, had been looked upon as an exceptional talent on the field since his first class debut in 2007.

He was named Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2009 and his talent was underscored further when he became the youngest Test batsman to score a century in each innings after his impressive debut against South Africa the same year.

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Hughes’ untimely death plunged the entire cricketing world into mourning on Thursday with hundreds of thousands of condolence messages pouring in from all over within minutes of the news of his demise. In Dubai, Pakistan and New Zealand aborted the second day of their third Test match in a gesture of condolence while the Indian cricket team, currently on tour in Australia, cancelled their two-day practice match that was due to start on Friday.

At the other end, the tragedy has raised serious issues regarding the safety of players on the field and the mandatory measures cricket boards ought to take to minimise such tragic incidents.

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s prolific young opener Ahmed Shehzad sustained a hairline fracture on the skull after being hit by a bouncer by Kiwi pacer Corey Anderson. While both Hughes and Shehzad were wearing helmets when they were hit, experts have questioned the robustness of the safety gear and its inadequate design which they say is not fool-proof.

And quite rightly, they have demanded that the authorities review certain rules of the game such as short-pitched bowling, etc to avoid similar accidents in the future.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014