The true context for cricket injuries

The true context for cricket injuries

The whole cricket world is mourning the death of past Test cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died in hospital two days after being after being hit in the head with a cricket ball in Sydney. 

The November 25 incident shows that anyone – even a Test batsman – can be subject to a serious injury. 

A number of parents and players will rightly be concerned over the confronting footage and images of the accident and its aftermath. 

Phillip Hughes was a precocious talent, starting his career at his local club – the same way that most youngsters commence on their cricket journey with a local club such as Moonee Valley – and had his first taste of senior cricket aged 12, playing against adults. 

But let’s put his sad and unfortunate accident into perspective, and ensure that any decisions being considered by parents and players about cricket sports injuries and safety are based on the facts. The world cricket community is rightfully saddened by the tragic death of this bright young talent, and it’s important to react and respond to the circumstances in a thoughtful manner. 

The facts are that cricket is one of the safer sports in Australia. 

The report, Australian Sports Injury Hospitalisations 2011/12, by the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, provides the perspective about injuries, and where our game of cricket fits into the spectrum. 

During 2011/12, an estimated 36,000 people aged 15 and over were hospitalised as the result of an injury sustained while playing sport, and spent a total of 79,000 days in hospital. Just 913 of those injured sportspeople were cricketers. 

Around one-third of all sports injury hospitalisations were associated with playing various codes of football. 

Sports with high rates of hospitalisation were roller sports, Australian Rules football and rugby (2305, 1319 and 1292 per 100,000 participants, respectively). 

By comparison, just 254 people per 100,000 cricketers ended up with a trip to hospital, which is fewer than netball (282), soccer (433), basketball (373) and hockey (393). This information is in no way designed to diminish the severity of the injury to Phillip Hughes or the legitimate concern, but to help put it in context. 

Of the raw numbers of hospitalisations over the study period, there were 3186 for Australian rules football, 2962 for soccer and 913 for cricket. 

The research found that 359,705 people reported playing cricket at least once in the previous 12 months. And just 913 needed a trip to hospital. By contrast, fewer people reported playing Aussie Rules in the same period – 241,531 yet footy hospitalisations were much higher. 

In over half the cricket cases, the injury was a fracture (53%). Muscle and tendon injuries and dislocations were also common at 10%. The three most frequently injured body regions were the wrist and hand (38%), the knee and lower leg (22%) and the head (18%). Football’s most frequently injured body region was the head at 23%, and the most frequent head injury was a fracture, at 44% of head injuries. 

The mean length of stay in hospital for a cricket-related injury was 1.4 days, which is slightly less than for most other sports. 

They’re the facts from the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, and that’s the perspective. 

But parents can still have legitimate concerns for the health and wellbeing of their child playing sport, and still have a right to ask what  is being done to prevent them being injured playing our great summer game. 

Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria set the lead in prevention, and associations and clubs follow. 

The North West Metropolitan Cricket Association has long been recognised for its commitment to junior cricket, and has been at the forefront in requiring our young players to wear protective equipment. The Association made it mandatory some 15 seasons ago for junior batsmen in all age groups to wear helmets. 

Our own Moonee Valley Cricket Club was even more proactive, and had a Club policy requiring helmets for all junior batsmen some two years before it was mandated by the Association. This was a parent-driven initiative, endorsed by our Club committee to help allay the legitimate concerns of mums and dads. 

Moonee Valley Cricket Club is well represented in the decision-making forums of the North West Metropolitan Cricket Association, and is therefore well placed to be heard in deliberations affecting player welfare and wellbeing. 

Valley’s Paul Brock is the NWMCA Vice President (Juniors), meaning he is in charge of the whole junior section Charlie Walker is the Under 10 Co-ordinator, and have been honored with Life Membership for more than 12 years of service to the junior committee. 

Other north-west clubs have representatives on the junior committee, with player welfare and wellbeing as a primary focus. 

Our Association requires a proportion of junior coaches to have a minimum Level 1 coaching qualification, which ensures that they are well aware of a range of safety requirements. 

Our Association also publicises among clubs the annual VicHealth safety equipment grants, which fund our junior teams to purchase helmets, pads, gloves and other protective gear. 

Our Association bans the bowling of short-pitched bouncers at Under 12 and Under 14 level, and only allows one bouncer per over at Under 16 level, where our junior batsmen are transitioning towards senior cricket. 

Our Association requires Under 10s to wear helmets, gloves and pads. Even though the soft ball used at Under 10 level is designed to prevent injury, we want our young players to become accustomed to wearing protective headgear so that it becomes second nature by the time they’re facing a hard ball. 

So while the graphic footage of the injury to Phillip Hughes is rightly confronting, let’s pay our respects to the passing of a bright young talent and ensure that we don’t become overcome with emotive reactions to our great summer sport of cricket. 

Let’s regard it as the unfortunate, rare and tragic accident that it was, and not as a catalyst to drag away our young sports men and women to a “safer” game – because the hospitalisation statistics confirm that cricket is already one of the safer team pursuits. 

Let’s continue to enjoy the challenge of bat and ball. 

Charlie Walker.
President,
Moonee Valley Cricket Club

Paul Brock.
NWMCA Junior Vice President,
Moonee Valley Cricket Club parent