As Australians, we have a perverse admiration for sportspeople performing heroics on the field after serious injury.
Names such as McCosker, Brereton, DiPierdomenico, Ponting, and Cronk - who played an NRL Grand Final with shoulder injuries like a car crash victim, have all been lauded for their bravery.
And now it has happened again. The former Australian Test Cricket Captain, Steve Smith, should never have resumed his innings during the fourth day of the recent Ashes Test at Lords.
Admittingly, I am not a brain expert, medical doctor nor trauma specialist, however I understand duty of care in the workplace. And for professional cricketers, the cricket field is just that.
Smith had already been struck a significant blow on the forearm with a large haematoma developing before medical staff could run out to assist.
He was then felled by a 148kmph thunderbolt from English debutant and Hobart Hurricanes player Jofra Archer. And although he was wearing a helmet (without a StemGuard), the ball hit him flush on the base of the neck; missing protective equipment. Smith collapsed forward to the pitch in a manner reminiscent of Test Cricketer Phillip Hughes, who would later die from his injuries, during a Sheffield Shield game in 2014. He was extremely reluctant, perhaps even belligerent, to leave the field, but as current protocol dictates, he followed orders.
Team Doctor Richard Saw, performed tests using the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT5); as required to diagnose possible concussion following a serious incident. He did everything by the current Cricket Australia (CA) policy.
SCAT5 involves making a series of observations including checking for neck pain and double vision, and asking baseline questions known as Memory Assessment Maddocks Questions such as: What venue are we at today? and Who won the last match? After convincing Dr. Saw, Smith was sent back to work just 40 minutes later with words like courage, determination, grit and toughness marking his arrival by commentators’ viewing the decision as heroic.
Truth be known, he was nearing a fourth test century in four innings in England (2015 & 2019) and seeking redemption for 12 months lost to the game for not providing leadership when teammates broke the rules and roughed a cricket ball with sandpaper.
Smith’s LBW dismissal on 92 appeared odd. Prior to the incident, he had worked the ball to the on-side relentlessly before returning to the field and letting a well-pitched delivery hit his pads without a stroke being offered. He was hit by a 156-gram projectile flush on the neck with no protection. By a Dukes cricket ball with a cork core that is wound tight with string, encased in four pieces of leather and handstitched, before being machine pressed to remain spherical.
The cork enables bounce, the leather guarantees hardness and longevity, and the hand-stitching forms a seam as well as binding the final product.
Can you imagine any workplace (apart from some professional sports) where you would return to your job after serious injury just 40 minutes after it occurred?
Questions must be asked whether CA has failed in its duty of care - taking reasonable care to avoid causing damage.
A second blow could have proved fatal.
Australian coach, former test opener and renowned tough-nut, Justin Langer says he treats the players like sons. If Steve Smith were my son, I would have wanted his employer to take him to hospital and suggest a CT scan, not send him straight back to work.
Historically, cricket has been slow to embrace the impact of concussion.
Why more Australian batsman and fielders fail to consider safety innovation, following the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, is deeply concerning. The English Cricket Board, working with Loughborough University, now track, investigate and monitor every helmet strike.
The AFL has significantly improved its understanding and ability to rule-out players and umpires who have suffered concussion during a game.
I could still watch every ball of a Test Match. And many years ago, my favourite time of the year was when the Charlton’s and Fortheringham’s Sports’ Store cricket catalogues arrived in the mailbox.
If your children feel the same, please invest in helmets with neck protection (StemGuard), and maybe a chest guard; because even if uncomfortable, or not worn by their heroes, there is growing evidence that they should be compulsory.
And now it has happened again. The former Australian Test Cricket Captain, Steve Smith, should never have resumed his innings during the fourth day of the recent Ashes Test at Lords.
Admittingly, I am not a brain expert, medical doctor nor trauma specialist, however I understand duty of care in the workplace. And for professional cricketers, the cricket field is just that.
Smith had already been struck a significant blow on the forearm with a large haematoma developing before medical staff could run out to assist.
He was then felled by a 148kmph thunderbolt from English debutant and Hobart Hurricanes player Jofra Archer. And although he was wearing a helmet (without a StemGuard), the ball hit him flush on the base of the neck; missing protective equipment. Smith collapsed forward to the pitch in a manner reminiscent of Test Cricketer Phillip Hughes, who would later die from his injuries, during a Sheffield Shield game in 2014. He was extremely reluctant, perhaps even belligerent, to leave the field, but as current protocol dictates, he followed orders.
Team Doctor Richard Saw, performed tests using the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT5); as required to diagnose possible concussion following a serious incident. He did everything by the current Cricket Australia (CA) policy.
SCAT5 involves making a series of observations including checking for neck pain and double vision, and asking baseline questions known as Memory Assessment Maddocks Questions such as: What venue are we at today? and Who won the last match? After convincing Dr. Saw, Smith was sent back to work just 40 minutes later with words like courage, determination, grit and toughness marking his arrival by commentators’ viewing the decision as heroic.
Truth be known, he was nearing a fourth test century in four innings in England (2015 & 2019) and seeking redemption for 12 months lost to the game for not providing leadership when teammates broke the rules and roughed a cricket ball with sandpaper.
Smith’s LBW dismissal on 92 appeared odd. Prior to the incident, he had worked the ball to the on-side relentlessly before returning to the field and letting a well-pitched delivery hit his pads without a stroke being offered. He was hit by a 156-gram projectile flush on the neck with no protection. By a Dukes cricket ball with a cork core that is wound tight with string, encased in four pieces of leather and handstitched, before being machine pressed to remain spherical.
The cork enables bounce, the leather guarantees hardness and longevity, and the hand-stitching forms a seam as well as binding the final product.
Can you imagine any workplace (apart from some professional sports) where you would return to your job after serious injury just 40 minutes after it occurred?
Questions must be asked whether CA has failed in its duty of care - taking reasonable care to avoid causing damage.
A second blow could have proved fatal.
Australian coach, former test opener and renowned tough-nut, Justin Langer says he treats the players like sons. If Steve Smith were my son, I would have wanted his employer to take him to hospital and suggest a CT scan, not send him straight back to work.
Historically, cricket has been slow to embrace the impact of concussion.
Why more Australian batsman and fielders fail to consider safety innovation, following the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, is deeply concerning. The English Cricket Board, working with Loughborough University, now track, investigate and monitor every helmet strike.
The AFL has significantly improved its understanding and ability to rule-out players and umpires who have suffered concussion during a game.
I could still watch every ball of a Test Match. And many years ago, my favourite time of the year was when the Charlton’s and Fortheringham’s Sports’ Store cricket catalogues arrived in the mailbox.
If your children feel the same, please invest in helmets with neck protection (StemGuard), and maybe a chest guard; because even if uncomfortable, or not worn by their heroes, there is growing evidence that they should be compulsory.
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