Former England captain and commentator Michael Vaughan has called the suggestion of banning bouncers in under-18 cricket “ridiculous”, saying it would be only more dangerous if the youngsters are exposed to a short-pitched delivery straightaway in senior cricket.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodians of cricket’s laws, has started a consultation process to discuss if the bowlers should continue to allow the use of bouncers after concussion Specialist Michael Turner, the media director of the International Concussion and Head Injury Research Foundation, urged authorities to consider banning the use of bouncers in under-18 cricket in order to limit long-term complications.
However, Vaughan wasn’t impressed with the idea at all; saying if bouncers are banned at the junior level, then the authorities will have to ban it at the elite level too since it would be “much more dangerous” for them to be exposed to the short ball for the first time at the highest level.
Vaughan wrote in “The Telegraph”: “It is a ridiculous suggestion and yet another example of the world we live in these days where anything risky is deemed too dangerous. It would be much more dangerous for young kids to only be exposed to the short ball for the first time when they play men’s cricket at a high level. They just would not be equipped to face it.”
He added, “I see kids coached at junior level and watch my son play. There is very little short-pitched bowling. The bowlers do not have the physical strength as kids to bowl bouncers and the pitches are too slow anyway.
It is in the nets where young batsmen can be pinned but they have to learn to play the short ball. If we ban it at junior level then we have to ban it at an elite level too.”
Following the tragic death of the 25-year-old Australian batsman Phillip Huges due to a bouncer in November 2014, there has been a lot of debate on the safety of players and even forced the manufacturers to redesign the helmets to enhance the safety of the batsmen.
Vaughan further wrote: “Protective equipment is very good these days. We had one tragic incident involving Phil Hughes but it is very rare there is a serious injury caused by a bouncer.”
He signed off by saying, “It does happen, but batsmen do not suffer the same repeated blows to the head as contact sports. The danger is bowling in T20. I reckon one day there will be a serious injury suffered by a bowler having the ball hit back at him.”
(With PTI Inputs)
