By Rhys Prka
As the inquest into the death of batsman Phillip Hughes continues in Sydney, Cricket Australia has already acted on one step aimed at making the game safer for players as a result of their independent review.
New rules are being introduced to help cricketers who receive heavy head knocks.
For the first time, players in the Matador Cup and Big Bash League can now use a replacement player if the team loses one member from a head knock.
However, the International Cricket Council rules still prevent concussion substitutes from being used in first-class cricket.
Cricketing legend and coach of the Perth Scorchers Justin Langer is worried about the ethos of the game being damaged and how the rule changes will be implemented.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see how they administer the policy and then how it can be successful going forward,” said Mr Langer.
“I wouldn’t support it at all,” he added, suggesting the sport could look in other areas, such as helmets, to help protect players.
“You cannot adequately access a player for a concussion on the field in two-to-three minutes,” said Mrs Debra Bow, Project Officer for Concussion in Sport Education Project.
“You need to take them of the field and access them in a quiet place and it takes about 20 minutes,” said Mrs Bow.
Mrs Bow said a lot of concussion injuries are not currently being properly diagnosed and that the possibility of a concussion needs to be treated by a trained doctor.
A new helmet design to help protect the batter’s neck.
Perth cricketer Scott Sanderson knows all about concussion injuries.
“In my level of cricket I experienced a very similar blow to my neck as Phil Hughes which left me concussed, but because of no concussion ruling, they left me out on the field which probably wasn’t the best,” said Mr Sanderson.
New helmets that protect the back of the neck and head have also been trialled in the wake of Phillip Hughes’ death.
The coronial inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes incident has heard that there was nothing that could have been done to save him.
The inquest will end on Friday and a number of players present on the day are expected to be called to give evidence.