Sheffield Shield 2014/15

[Aidan11]

Day/night competitive first class cricket.

I hoped I'd never see the day.

[andy]

can't see it lasting..... (at least i hope it dosen't last..)

[Aidan11]

I can't see it working in England. You'd have to start a match at 4pm for it to work due to the long daylight evenings.

[andy]

yeah it defo won't work in England, be bloody freezing as well lol!!

[Aidan11]

The ball would get damp in the evening dew as well.

Bowlers wouldn't be able to grip the ball properly. Not an issue in limited overs but it should not be allowed in the first class game. OK the MCC v Champion County curtain raiser does this but Abu Dhabi is a lot different to England.

[GarlicJam]

How did the day/nighters go? Seems as though the matches might have been a bit light on runs... perhaps?

From what I can gather, they don't think it's gone over too well with the players, I don't really know what the crowd numbers were like. There's been some negative feedback in terms of how the pink ball behaved when it was a bit worn. I'm not sure what the plan is regarding more day/night fixtures. If CA are looking to get fans to show up to these matches, perhaps they need to consider having some fixtures in regional centers, which does happen occasionally.

What I have heard after the last lot of day/night games was largely positive. Admittedly, half of what I heard was coming from Administrators, so a pallet load of salt is needed.

But, comments I heard from players - and I can't remember which ones, but a few of them were Tassie players - mentioned the black stitching to be an improvement, as was the black sight-screen (surprisingly, for me), and the altered shade of pink colouring on the ball.

Noises coming from Admin seem confident that a D/N test between Aus and NZ is more than a strong possibility next year.....
Where, is the isue, assuming that it IS to go ahead, with a lot of consideration needing to be paid to the conditions likely.

[Durhamfootman]

Fingers crossed for Phil Hughes. I wish him well.

Must have been pretty scary for everyone else as well.

[westoelad]

Fingers crossed for Phil Hughes. I wish him well.

Must have been pretty scary for everyone else as well.

He's in an indused coma to reduce the blood pressure on the brain and it'll be afew days before the medics can make any prognosis.

I often wonder if helmets do afford more protection. Obviously they generally offer protection but they must also impair both vision and head movement. In pre-helmet days effective players of the short pitched ball claimed you had to keep your eye on the ball and only make the slightest head movement at the last second to avoid any contact. Players generally are far less effective at playing the short pitched ball and because of the protecton the helmet normally gives take their eye off the ball early.

[Aidan11]

Fingers crossed for Phil Hughes. I wish him well.

Must have been pretty scary for everyone else as well.

He's in an indused coma to reduce the blood pressure on the brain and it'll be afew days before the medics can make any prognosis.

I often wonder if helmets do afford more protection. Obviously they generally offer protection but they must also impair both vision and head movement. In pre-helmet days effective players of the short pitched ball claimed you had to keep your eye on the ball and only make the slightest head movement at the last second to avoid any contact. Players generally are far less effective at playing the short pitched ball and because of the protecton the helmet normally gives take their eye off the ball early.

Reports suggest that he was hit on the back of the head underneath the helmet. His helmet was raised at the back to allow the head to move more freely and by a total freakish chance the ball has got him in the wrong place.

This comes around a fortnight after Ahmed Shehzad received a fractured skull after being hit on the head by a bouncer. Stuart Broad got his face re-arranged last summer after one got through the grill. Fortunately his was much less serious in context.

Maybe it's time to re-think the way helmets are manufactured.

[Gingerfinch]

Fingers crossed for Phil Hughes. I wish him well.

Must have been pretty scary for everyone else as well.

He's in an indused coma to reduce the blood pressure on the brain and it'll be afew days before the medics can make any prognosis.

I often wonder if helmets do afford more protection. Obviously they generally offer protection but they must also impair both vision and head movement. In pre-helmet days effective players of the short pitched ball claimed you had to keep your eye on the ball and only make the slightest head movement at the last second to avoid any contact. Players generally are far less effective at playing the short pitched ball and because of the protecton the helmet normally gives take their eye off the ball early.

I agree to an extent. Most players are more likely to concentrate more if not wearing one, and the good ones will be able to cope. I would hate to see a tail ender, or even a less talented player without one though.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Finding out if a player is less vulnerable without a helmet is an experiment that can't be carried out. And there were fatalities, and injuries as serious as this pre-helmet. It may be that there is a greater content of fast, and fast and short pitched bowling now, and the rarity of injuries a remarkable thing? The pitches at least are covered. No one, surely would send a tail ender out without a helmet? And batters most often get hit because the ball deflects off the bat, and nothing can save you from those.

This is something that life and sport lives with. Strangely, many activities in life are far more dangerous than having a rock thrown at your head. For instance, driving. And cricket is one of the safer sports. Actually, the scenario that really frightens me is the short leg/etc, who really doesn't have much of a chance. I wonder if a no fielder zone should be considered?

[Gingerfinch]

I'm surprised we don't see more injuries in village cricket, where helmets are as rare as good wickets.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Really? I thought everyone would wear a helmet these days.

[Gingerfinch]

Really? I thought everyone would wear a helmet these days.

Not when I played, which was only 10-15 years ago. Don't know about these days?

[Arthur Crabtree]

I've only seen people when going walking in the country, and helmets are worn. I couldn't say how extensively though.