Message Board Archives

Is it an inability to play the short ball, or is it that a helmet, heavy-laden with sweat, slows the reaction time?

Or, maybe, for some batsmen, a helmet gives a sort of misplaced self-confidence that they do not necessarily have to get out of the way, and they take the hit on the body or the helmet.

Surely, in earlier times some players got some serious injuries, but the great players often were able to sway out of the way or place that short ball into or over the ropes.

I know where this thread is headed to....

In reply to Casper

Our batsmen in 1975/76 series against OZ in OZ got hit almost every time they went to the crease.

On that tour, due to either injury or men refusing to bat in that position, a relative rookie Viv Richards, Bernard Julien and Deryck Murray had to open the batting on occasion.

During WI dominance of the game in the late 70’s throughout the 80’s, countless opposition batters got hit

The facts don’t support your statement.

Pace is pace. Batsmen get hit. No matter the era. Batters today are safer due to protective gear.

I remember the likes of Craig Sergeant getting hit by Andy Roberts at the QPO. One ball was a slower bouncer that he put away to the boundary.

Next ball was same length……much faster…..and crashed into his face. Blood spurting like a fountain.

Robin Smith…..as tough as they come…..being abused by Ian Bishop.

Phil Simmons was once a fearless, overly aggressive opening batsman. Got hit in the head in a tour match in England and nearly died.


I don’t have data…..but players got hit back then……often too.

If you watch the regional tournaments you will see why. Batsmen are treated lick tea cups. DO NOT DAMAGE!
None of them can handle short and fast because they are not attacked by the bowlers and Spin have dominated
almost every match played in the region.

So lots of mediocre spinners and poor top order batsmen.

In reply to imusic

I never disputed that some players got some serious injuries, but the majority did not over the decades of cricket.

I do get your point, expressed here, but I return to to my original question as to whether the helmet impedes or impacts the modern player's ability to effectively play the short ball, by giving a false confidence of protection, as all the benefits of it's use are described here.

In reply to Casper

Wouldn’t a false sense of security allow a player to better concentrate on capitalising on the short ball, having the false sense of protection against being hurt?

I don’t understand your link between helmets and playing poorly under a false sense of security.

In reply to imusic

On that tour, due to either injury or men refusing to bat in that position, a relative rookie Viv Richards, Bernard Julien and Deryck Murray had to open the batting on occasion.

Is the above an accurate statement?

Better protective gear so they are less afraid of taking on the short ball, as opposed to ducking. You barely see batsmen ducking and swaying out of the way

Scoring rates have gone up so they try to score off every ball. The first instinct is to score, throwing caution to the wind

The back and across trigger movement is now pretty much history, batsman commit to the front foot and hence are vulnerable to short balls that bounce more than expected

When you look at Jaden Seales you will see development series after series.
This is a guy who is putting in the work.
After seeing Kraigg at the U19 level and then at the regional level, an Antiguan brother said to me that his batting coach should be fired. He was a strong leg-side player, but the coach had weakened his strength and left him batting like a tailender.
His coaches are still coaching at his club and the BCA.

In reply to tc1

Google is yuh friend

In reply to imusic

imran knocked out jimmy aramanth, smith got his jaw broken by walsh. tendulkar got hit by anderson, who was a slowpoke compared to some of the other dudes he was facing, lara got hit by mcgrath, who was a slowpoke compared to the other dudes he was facing. as a batsman, you have to accept that at some point you'll get hit. what didn't used to happen was batsmen getting bowled regularly between bat and pad. That is one of the most common dismissals today

In reply to Jumpstart

That Mohinder Armanath guy was one of the best and toughest players against our 4 prong that I remember.

Oz had a wicketkeeper called Wayne Phillips who also did well against our 4 prong.

Sir Everton told me he missed a card game, and the next day, facing Ray Lindwall, he received a snorter. On his follow-through, he said that it was for not showing up last night.
He also told me he gave light when the batsman asked because fast bowling can be dangerous, and at the club level, all our players are amateurs, some with families.
I was always mad when lights were given when asked, Cammie Smith you had to beg, seeing Wes Hall and Tony Smith in the park after 5:00 pm with a new ball, you must have guts.

In reply to imusic

jimmy was a warrior for sure. 598 runs against the four horsemen is no easy feat at all...in their backyard too. ironically gavaskar was missing any meaningful contribution to the scorecard if the ground wasn't named Bourda

In reply to imusic

Huge exaggeration I-Muse, lots of licks yes but not almost every time. In fact, I doubt Viv got hit even once in '75-76. And, even when Kalli's nose was broken and bloodied (2nd test Perth) he came back later in the innings still wearing a t-shirt under the whites that actually read "Kalli The Happy Hooker" and still hooked.
Yagga's licks was rib-cage...can happen to anyone. Had men been hit above the waist half as much h as now there'd be many a dead batsmen

In reply to Casper

It take several tries to correct bad practice routines, now think of a batsman who dont face quick short pitch bowling, he will be a target for getting hit.
Our surfaces in the region are slow, we just dont have speedsters, practice sessions are void of short pitch bowling.
In the last Legend cup match, Jofra Archer has plenty of batsman bobbing and weaving, he was bowling quick.
He is giving back by representing his club, and playing trial cricket.

In reply to Brerzerk

viv got hit in the jaw by rodney hogg, on the shoulder by steve waugh...of all ppl

In reply to Brerzerk

yesss. great point.

In reply to Brerzerk

Yuh “conveniently” omit Greenidge and Rowe I see. Arguably the 2 biggest “runners” on that tour.

To be fair…..everybody ran. Dat was some shocking “heat” they faced…….particularly from Thomson who it is alleged deliberately overstepped on occasions to further intimidate.



Why yuh think dem men I mention had to open?