Phillip Hughes and Sean Abbott - Both victims of a freak accident

It really is so hard to come to terms with the appalling news of Phillip Hughes' death as a result of being struck by a bouncer at the SCG. There have been previous high-profile incidents of severe head injuries resulting from short-pitched balls delivered in top-level cricket matches but this must be unprecedented. I recall the news of New Zealand tail-ender Ewen Chatfield being hit on his temple, swallowing his tongue and actually dying at the crease on his international debut against England almost forty years ago. Fortunately he was revived and went on to resume a promising career bowling alongside Sir Richard Hadlee.

No helmets in those days but, with pace bowlers like Lillee, Roberts, Holding, Daniel and Clarke becoming dominant, the Chatfield incident led to greater protection being routine in World Series Cricket and then, quite quickly, in all forms of the game. The helmet evolved from just a hard hat with temple guards to the fully-grilled equipment de rigeur in 2014. But even the ball which almost killed Chatfield was not an out-and-out bouncer; it had glanced up off the glove.

A decade on, and West Indian opener Phil Simmons also received a sickening blow in a county match at Bristol which briefly stopped his heart and prompted emergency brain surgery to save not only his fledgling career but also his life. Even in 1988, Simmons wasn't wearing a helmet despite facing David Lawrence in fading light, but that was common amongst top West Indians at the time. Viv Richards always wore his cap, confident in his ability to either evade the short ball or hook it to the boundary. Of course, not everybody has the sharp eye and reactions of a Viv Richards.

Lawrence said later that he was immeasurably comforted by Simmons telling him a few days later at a hospital visit that it wasn't the bowler's fault. Of course it wasn't, just as the delivery from Sean Abbott wasn't intended to kill his opponent. Yet the NSW paceman is only human and it's only natural for him to wonder if Hughes would still be alive if the ball had been slower, or fuller. Yes, he probably would - but this is cricket and what happened was a cruel twist of incredibly bad luck. Well set in his innings, Hughes had defended well against some short-pitched stuff then, for once, appeared to change his mind mid-shot and turned away only for the ball to strike his head just below the helmet. As soon after he crashed face first into the pitch it must have been a nightmare to have been one of those fellow players or spectators. Yet who could have thought that in this day and age, a top-class batsman like Phillip Hughes, popular around the world, would never speak again.

So what should be done to prevent a repeat? Ian O'Brien's excellent article on ESPN cricinfo, was written a day before Hughes' death was announced. However, his delving into the psychology of a fast bowler and his use of the bouncer, remains valid. The short ball must remain part of the game, no question. There may be calls for its ban, but to turn cricket into the equivalent of a summer beach game with a tennis ball would destroy cricket as a world sport. Golf goes on despite the occasional tragic death of a spectator by an errant drive or a player by lightning strike. Rugby hasn't been emasculated despite career-ending broken necks and even deaths of amateur players.

Unforeseen accidents afflict all walks of life, whether in sport or walking down the street. Mark Boucher must have stood up to thousands of deliveries before a bail decided to leap into his eye before he had time to blink. Such incidents can happen to anyone and mercifully they are rare. If anything there could be further developments in the design of protective headgear, which would be applauded.

Cricketers the world over must read the news of Phillip Hughes and think "There by the grace of God..." and for a while there will inevitably be reluctance by fast bowlers to dig one in, or indeed for a tendency for batsmen's hearts to more readily skip a beat at the sight of a ball leaving the bowler's hand a few milliseconds late, spearing into the pitch and rearing up towards head height. In particular, Sean Abbott will be more psychologically scarred by this incident than anyone else. At 22, and only recently elevated to the Aussie ODI and T20I sides, he has his whole career ahead of him. Phillip Hughes would almost certainly have played again for his country, too. Had he had the chance to do so, I'm sure he would have shaken Abbott's hand and forgiven him. That's sport. I just hope that, as we remember the life and career of the man from Macksville, we also support Sean Abbott, avoid knee-jerk reactions and allow cricket to recover.

Team of the Week: Hail, Herath and Monty the spin kings!

It was a really well-balanced week in terms of eye-catching performances. Big scores at the top, consistent runs in the middle-order, double-wicket hauls from experienced spinners and excellent all-rounders.

I don't normally do this but I have included three opening batsmen in my Team of the Week, although one is there as an all-rounder who just happens to be a captain and new-ball number one. England's under-19 team beat their South African counterparts 4-0 in one-dayers this week, and Will Rhodes and partner Haseeb Hameed were central to each victory. The former plays for Yorkshire 2nds, the latter for Lancashire 2nds but the Roses differences were put aside for the internationals. Captain Rhodes weighed in with 168 runs and 11 wickets while Bolton-born 17 year-old Hameed delivered a sequence which reads: 97, 97, 125, 32. Maybe in five years' time, he'll be gunning for the Bell, Bopara or Root slot in the senior team.

Before heading for The Oval, I'll divert to the southern hemisphere and select Phil Hughes. The second unofficial 'A' Test at Townsville was ruined by rain, but the maddeningly inconsistent Aussie struck a superb unbeaten 243, to go with another double in one of the earlier one-day fixtures.

The aforementioned Joe Root also makes my team for the latest of his big scores for England. 149 not out was the simple statistic but it seems that once he is set, nobody can get him out, especially an Indian attack seemingly desperate to go home or play the limited over format. Few players average more than 100 in a five-Test series but the young Yorkshireman managed that landmark. Another handy biff-bash merchant, Luke Wright enjoyed a good week personally, if not for his Sussex side. His 113 and 52 in the Championship defeat to Yorkshire were followed by 127 in 115 balls against Glamorgan, also in a losing cause. If Jacques Rudolph had produced runs in the four-day match, his county record-breaking 169 not out in that game would have given me even more of a selection headache, and Kane Williamson (189 for Yorkshire) also just misses out.

My final specialist batsman is Steven Davies. No longer keeping wicket for Surrey, he plundered 174 and 38 against Leicestershire in the Championship and a run-a-ball 50 in the Royal London Cup win against Somerset. With the gloves, Northants' Adam Rossington is narrowly nudged aside by Pakistan's Sarfraz Ahmed. He made his fourth successive Test 50, including 103 in the latest loss to Sri Lanka.

David Willey, Jim Allenby and Adil Rashid all caught the eye as all-rounders but one of the season's stars, Tom Smith, forces his way into my squad this week. His wicket-taking consistency was maintained in both first-class and List A contests, alongside a 47-ball 54 in the Cup plus 44 and a match-winning 35 not out in the nerve-shredding climax versus Durham.

For once, Anderson and Broad let the supporting cast take the spotlight at The Oval, and Chris Jordan lapped it up with 3-32 and 4-18 as India's batsmen capitulated miserably.

Finally to those slow bowlers. Monty Panesar has produced the goods for England before now but in a rare outing for Essex in these days of misbehaviour the former beard that's feared claimed eleven wickets in the Championship triumph over Glamorgan. Rangana Herath is vying with Saeed Ajmal for player of the summer, and he added another fourteen to his Test career tally in the second win against Pakistan. The retiring Mahela Jayawardene may have been given the greater ovation but the spinner, just one year younger than his outgoing colleague, took his wicket tally in the last three five-dayers to a Murali-like 32, and 23 in the two-match series. More records abound!

In conclusion: Rhodes (Eng u-19, *), Hameed (Eng U-19), Hughes (Aus A), Wright (Sus), Root (Eng), Davies (Sur), Sarfraz Ahmed (Pak +), Smith (Lan), Jordan (Eng), Herath (SL), Panesar (Ess).

Aussies in the firing line

After a miserable Champions Trophy tournament, the disgraceful off-pitch behaviour of David Warner and the hasty replacement of Mickey Arthur as coach by Darren Lehmann, Michael Clarke's men must have been relieved to get back to playing first-class cricket this week. Taunton often plays the role of warm-up venue for tourists and to their credit, Somerset have fielded most of their first eleven to give the Aussies a bit of a test in advance of the Ashes series.

For much of Wednesday, the county must have wished all their innings came against the Australian bowling attack. Nick Compton showed the selectors what he could do, stroking 13 boundaries in his 81 while Chris Jones enjoyed his elevation to the top rank by reaching an effortless maiden century. I peeked through the Garner Gates for a few overs, and neither Pattinson nor Lyon seemed able to stem the flow of runs. James Hildreth joined in the fun and Lehmann must have held his head in hands with Somerset breezing along at 304-2. However, suddenly the tap was shut off and the home team suffered a collapse almost Essex-esque! Eight wickets fell in eight overs for 16 runs, including five successive ducks, as Mitch Starc and Pattinson bowled and struck the pads with stunning frequency and accuracy.

The second morning saw Shane Watson in sparkling form, advancing smartly towards a hundred. He'd creamed 20 boundaries before he pushed Overton to Trego on 90. Cowan was the only failure in that first innings, although Phil Hughes scored the only other half-century. Despite facing George Dockrill, Hughes seemed comfortable against spin and the ouoting will have done him a lot of good. When Somerset batted again, only James Hildreth and a typically aggressive 60 from Peter Trego gave the bowlers some tough treatment, leaving the tourists 260 to win. On most pitches that could be a troublesome target but this is Taunton and this is a less than scary Somerset attack.

Cowan and Khawaja need to play themselves into real contention for the Test side, while Clarke will want to find his old form after his injury lay-off. Of the bowlers, Peter Siddle again struggled for rhythm and his only wicket was that of number ten Jamie Overton. The Australians have a second county warm-up at Worcester next week but sadly they look one of the weakest green baggy squads I can remember for a long time. With no Hussey, Ponting or even Mitchell Johnson, the look surprisingly ordinary. The ludicrous non-selection for Tests of David Hussey remains one of the most ridiculous decisions by any country in the past decade, and he (and Chris Rogers) are clearly better than the current top order. If they're good enough, they're young enough. Cricket Australia may regret it come the end of summer.