Second Ashes Test. Lord's.
Why Smith didn't want safety guard that could have saved his neck
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 52i7k.html
' "I actually didn't realise ... it might be my error ... but I didn't realise they weren't mandatory until today," Langer said. "Then I think Steve wrote in his book, didn't he, that he doesn't like ... he just doesn't feel comfortable [using it]. He's got all those little idiosyncrasies that everyone is talking about, he doesn't like having shoelaces he can see, he doesn't like his shoes being dirty.
"So it's the same. He just doesn't feel right. I'm sure after today it will get talked about again. I know they came in after the tragedy of Hughesy. So I'm sure it will get talked about and he might rethink it now after seeing what happened today. But you'd have to ask him that. At the moment, the players have a choice and I wouldn't be surprised if they become mandatory in the future."
...
Smith, by contrast, was cleared of concussion by team doctor Richard Saw on Saturday after the Australian medicos walked him from the field for further assessments in the visitors' medical room. A scan also gave him the green light amid concerns he had suffered a fracture to the forearm from an earlier Archer bumper.'
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 52i7k.html
' "I actually didn't realise ... it might be my error ... but I didn't realise they weren't mandatory until today," Langer said. "Then I think Steve wrote in his book, didn't he, that he doesn't like ... he just doesn't feel comfortable [using it]. He's got all those little idiosyncrasies that everyone is talking about, he doesn't like having shoelaces he can see, he doesn't like his shoes being dirty.
"So it's the same. He just doesn't feel right. I'm sure after today it will get talked about again. I know they came in after the tragedy of Hughesy. So I'm sure it will get talked about and he might rethink it now after seeing what happened today. But you'd have to ask him that. At the moment, the players have a choice and I wouldn't be surprised if they become mandatory in the future."
...
Smith, by contrast, was cleared of concussion by team doctor Richard Saw on Saturday after the Australian medicos walked him from the field for further assessments in the visitors' medical room. A scan also gave him the green light amid concerns he had suffered a fracture to the forearm from an earlier Archer bumper.'
Strong words from M. Knox:
Smith returning to bat was brave... but only if you leave your head inside cricket's glass box
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 52i75.html
"When a fast bouncer from Jofra Archer hit him in the neck at Lord's on Saturday, Smith went into a momentary twilight zone. His mime artistry, which sparks so much fascination, became for a few seconds a horror show. His head flung back and he dropped, limp, to the turf. He went down with the expressiveness that marks all his actions on a cricket field. This time it expressed the purest fear of a young man in the instant of wondering if this is when he dies.
...
Smith's choice to continue batting was only brave within cricket's glass box, which has somehow enchanted him and transformed his disgrace into glory. How can anyone keep his head inside that glass box? How long is it going to last? What are the long-term, or even the short-term, effects on his mental health?
Never mind. The game has to go on. Spectators live in our own imitations of that box, and are as dim to those questions as the participants. If you could keep your brain inside that box, you could appreciate the courage, the skill, and the character of what Smith was doing out there. But only if you stay inside the box.
Some sports have a fundamental stupidity, and a few of them an equally fundamental hypocrisy. Many cricket folk look down their noses at the barbarity of boxing, or bullfighting, or the rugby codes, where trying to hit someone in the head gets you sent off. ...
It is oblivion, not memory and even less imagination, that drives games. ... What remains is forgetting, ignoring, looking forward, crawling back inside that glass box where competition is all and 'bravery' is a set of simulations and analogues, while a glimpse of the terrifying fragility of life is transformed into passing guises, expressions of concern, formulas and processes, black suits worn at funerals."
Smith returning to bat was brave... but only if you leave your head inside cricket's glass box
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 52i75.html
"When a fast bouncer from Jofra Archer hit him in the neck at Lord's on Saturday, Smith went into a momentary twilight zone. His mime artistry, which sparks so much fascination, became for a few seconds a horror show. His head flung back and he dropped, limp, to the turf. He went down with the expressiveness that marks all his actions on a cricket field. This time it expressed the purest fear of a young man in the instant of wondering if this is when he dies.
...
Smith's choice to continue batting was only brave within cricket's glass box, which has somehow enchanted him and transformed his disgrace into glory. How can anyone keep his head inside that glass box? How long is it going to last? What are the long-term, or even the short-term, effects on his mental health?
Never mind. The game has to go on. Spectators live in our own imitations of that box, and are as dim to those questions as the participants. If you could keep your brain inside that box, you could appreciate the courage, the skill, and the character of what Smith was doing out there. But only if you stay inside the box.
Some sports have a fundamental stupidity, and a few of them an equally fundamental hypocrisy. Many cricket folk look down their noses at the barbarity of boxing, or bullfighting, or the rugby codes, where trying to hit someone in the head gets you sent off. ...
It is oblivion, not memory and even less imagination, that drives games. ... What remains is forgetting, ignoring, looking forward, crawling back inside that glass box where competition is all and 'bravery' is a set of simulations and analogues, while a glimpse of the terrifying fragility of life is transformed into passing guises, expressions of concern, formulas and processes, black suits worn at funerals."
Last edited by K on Sun Aug 18, 2019 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
D. Brettig:
'There were none, however, on the Australian balcony. Among their number were Brad Haddin, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, David Warner and Travis Head. All played in that November 2014 Sheffield Shield game, where on the first day everything changed. In public view, their faces wore looks of concern but also masks against emotion - the mess of emotions all experienced in 2014, but had to hide after a while to return to the game. The former captain Michael Clarke has reflected that his career was more or less over once he had thought about it all.
"I shouldn't have played another game. My career should have stopped then. It was too hard for me," Clarke said in 2017. "It took me a lot longer to grieve his loss than it should have, or that I would have liked. I didn't allow myself to grieve at the time because I had responsibility to his family, firstly, but then also as Australia's cricket captain to my team-mates and getting us back out onto the field. My greatest strength as a small boy growing up and all through my career was that I was never scared.
"The faster they bowled, the easier it would be to score. I liked batting without a helmet on occasions; they'd bowl at your head and I'd love playing the hook or the pull shot. Even if it was just my subconscious, when I lost one of my best mates playing the game that we love, I think my subconscious worked out that you can actually die playing this sport. Even if it was the smallest bit of fear, you can't play at the highest level like that."
It's a fear that many have had to push to the back of their minds in the ensuing years, some better than others. For Smith, who did not play in that match but had to do his own share of grieving and reflecting in private, the contemplation of the moment needed to share headroom with working out whether or not he had been concussed - something that would have forced him out of the Test match - or merely hit a stunning blow to the back of the neck. Speaking to Saw, he mouthed the words "I feel great", though with an expression that indicated the opposite.'
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... standstill
'There were none, however, on the Australian balcony. Among their number were Brad Haddin, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, David Warner and Travis Head. All played in that November 2014 Sheffield Shield game, where on the first day everything changed. In public view, their faces wore looks of concern but also masks against emotion - the mess of emotions all experienced in 2014, but had to hide after a while to return to the game. The former captain Michael Clarke has reflected that his career was more or less over once he had thought about it all.
"I shouldn't have played another game. My career should have stopped then. It was too hard for me," Clarke said in 2017. "It took me a lot longer to grieve his loss than it should have, or that I would have liked. I didn't allow myself to grieve at the time because I had responsibility to his family, firstly, but then also as Australia's cricket captain to my team-mates and getting us back out onto the field. My greatest strength as a small boy growing up and all through my career was that I was never scared.
"The faster they bowled, the easier it would be to score. I liked batting without a helmet on occasions; they'd bowl at your head and I'd love playing the hook or the pull shot. Even if it was just my subconscious, when I lost one of my best mates playing the game that we love, I think my subconscious worked out that you can actually die playing this sport. Even if it was the smallest bit of fear, you can't play at the highest level like that."
It's a fear that many have had to push to the back of their minds in the ensuing years, some better than others. For Smith, who did not play in that match but had to do his own share of grieving and reflecting in private, the contemplation of the moment needed to share headroom with working out whether or not he had been concussed - something that would have forced him out of the Test match - or merely hit a stunning blow to the back of the neck. Speaking to Saw, he mouthed the words "I feel great", though with an expression that indicated the opposite.'
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... standstill
Rain delay to start day 5. This may ensure the draw.
Meanwhile, a statement from Greg Dyer & Alistair Nicholson, for the ACA (quoted by cricinfo):
"The overnight events at Lords show the importance of the concussion protocols which have been developed in Australia over the last few years.
"Administrators in Australia working with the ACA and now the ICC have done a good job in putting the protocols in place. Plainly, they are necessary to protect the players who are struck. Let's remind ourselves - this is a workplace for these players.
"The reality is that cricket can be a dangerous sport, especially when the bowling is as ferocious as it has been in this series. To see the protocols practiced at Lords overnight was important and correct.
"What was unwelcome and incorrect was the sound of booing of an injured player. Cricket deserves much better than that. And Lords, the home of cricket, deserves much better than that also.
"What we witnessed was bravery from an outstanding young man. It should be commended not vilified. Over the English summer, generally the crowds have been terrific and really added to the contest. But when someone is hurt, yet the boos continue, it's time to call 'enough.'
"At any rate, the players have already served the toughest penalties in the history of cricket. Surely it is time to move forward."
Meanwhile, a statement from Greg Dyer & Alistair Nicholson, for the ACA (quoted by cricinfo):
"The overnight events at Lords show the importance of the concussion protocols which have been developed in Australia over the last few years.
"Administrators in Australia working with the ACA and now the ICC have done a good job in putting the protocols in place. Plainly, they are necessary to protect the players who are struck. Let's remind ourselves - this is a workplace for these players.
"The reality is that cricket can be a dangerous sport, especially when the bowling is as ferocious as it has been in this series. To see the protocols practiced at Lords overnight was important and correct.
"What was unwelcome and incorrect was the sound of booing of an injured player. Cricket deserves much better than that. And Lords, the home of cricket, deserves much better than that also.
"What we witnessed was bravery from an outstanding young man. It should be commended not vilified. Over the English summer, generally the crowds have been terrific and really added to the contest. But when someone is hurt, yet the boos continue, it's time to call 'enough.'
"At any rate, the players have already served the toughest penalties in the history of cricket. Surely it is time to move forward."
Lyon to bowl from the other end.
Slip. Forward short leg.
Deep backward square.
Buttler tucks the first ball around the corner for a single. There is applause.
That brings Stokes on to strike. He is supposed to be Lyon's bunny -- at least when he sweeps.
Holding says the blow to Smith has had a huge effect on the game. He would normally be fielding at slip, Holding says, and then he would not have dropped the catch and Stokes would be gone.
Slip. Forward short leg.
Deep backward square.
Buttler tucks the first ball around the corner for a single. There is applause.
That brings Stokes on to strike. He is supposed to be Lyon's bunny -- at least when he sweeps.
Holding says the blow to Smith has had a huge effect on the game. He would normally be fielding at slip, Holding says, and then he would not have dropped the catch and Stokes would be gone.
Stokes thick edges Cummins not too far from Khawaja to the boundary for 4.
And next ball hammers a square cut in the air past cover for another 4.
He leaves the next ball.There are oohs.
Holding: "That was close."
Labu is at second slip. But the big news is that he may bat...
Holding reports that Smith is going to be subbed out. He woke up dizzy.
No decision has been taken regarding the next Test in three days.
"Like for like" substitute. It's well within the 36-hour deadline. This will make Test history, of course, as the first concussion sub.
And next ball hammers a square cut in the air past cover for another 4.
He leaves the next ball.There are oohs.
Holding: "That was close."
Labu is at second slip. But the big news is that he may bat...
Holding reports that Smith is going to be subbed out. He woke up dizzy.
No decision has been taken regarding the next Test in three days.
"Like for like" substitute. It's well within the 36-hour deadline. This will make Test history, of course, as the first concussion sub.