Only a fortnight ago,
this happened – a top order batsman who
can bowl some handy legspin, South African-born Marnus Labuschagne became part
of history - No one in the 142-year
history of Test match cricket had done what Marnus Labuschagne managed on day
five at Lord's in 2019.
Steve Smith was
injured. The official notification by
the Australian team to the ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle, Smith's symptoms
were described as "headache, dizziness, feeling slowed down, feeling in a
fog, don't feel right, drowsiness". He is set to undergo further
precautionary scans on his neck to assess whether there is any further damage.
"As part of the Cricket Australia concussion protocol, repeat concussion
testing of Steve Smith was also performed this morning and demonstrated some
deterioration from his testing which is consistent with the emergence of the
symptoms he was reporting," a Cricket Australia spokesman said. "On
that basis Steve has been withdrawn from the match by team doctor Richard Saw
and the Australia team will lodge an application for a concussion substitute
with the ICC match referee in line with the ICC protocol.
A player is no longer under
pressure to take the field when he or she displays symptoms of concussion and a
side is not disadvantaged having lost a player to a blow to the head or neck.
Each of the ICC, CA and the ECB have their own concussion policies, but all
stress the need for caution in dealing with potential or actual concussion
cases. CA's policy, which was used in domestic cricket as a forerunner to the
introduction of a concussion protocol for international cricket at the start of
this Ashes series, states "in case of uncertainty, the qualified medical
officer should always adopt a conservative approach to return to play". For sure,
even the player entering would not want this to happen and sadly this happened
for the 2nd time within a fortnight.
A concussion is a mild
traumatic brain injury (TBI). It can occur after an impact to one’s head or
after a whiplash-type injury that causes one’s head and brain to shake quickly back and
forth. A concussion results in an altered mental state that may include
becoming unconscious. Anyone can become
injured during a fall, car accident, or any other daily activity. In impact sports such as football or boxing, participants
have an increased risk of getting a concussion. Concussions, generally are not
life-threatening, but they can cause serious symptoms that require medical
treatment.
An aggressive batsman
from Jamaica, Jermaine Blackwood broke into the West Indies Test squad in June
2014, during the home series against New Zealand, after a successful
first-class season. The leading run-scorer in the 2013-14 season of Regional
Four-Day Competition with 611 runs, Blackwood replaced Marlon Samuels after
West Indies lost the first Test in Jamaica. A century against the touring
Bangladesh A side few days before the Test helped his case too. Blackwood went
on to score 63 runs but was left out in the third Test as West Indies opted for
an extra bowler.
Now West Indies have
drafted Jermaine Blackwood into their XI for the Jamaica Test as a concussion
substitute for Darren Bravo. Bravo retired hurt on 23
on the fourth morning of the Test, having just driven Jasprit Bumrah to the
cover boundary in the fourth over of the day.
Bravo had taken a blow to the helmet in the last over of day three, off
a bouncer from Bumrah. The ball had struck the right side of his helmet, and
sent his stem guards - which protect the batsman's neck area - flying. He faced
two more balls on the third evening, and a further ten balls on Monday morning. A medical examination confirmed a concussion,
and match referee David Boon has approved West Indies' request for Blackwood to
come into the game as a substitute. A
CWI spokesperson said Bravo had undergone a concussion test after the end of
the third day's play, and passed it.
Blackwood came into bat
at the fall of the fourth wicket, with West Indies needing a further 370 runs
to win the Test, or survive just under five-and-a-half sessions to save it. Blackwood wasn't in West Indies' original
squad, but is from Jamaica, and had earlier fielded as a substitute during the
match. The last of his 27 previous Test appearances came in Bulawayo in
October-November 2017. He becomes the second concussion substitute in men's
Test cricket, after the Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne, who came in for
Steven Smith in the Lord's Ashes Test last month.
Now getting back to ‘substitutes’ in Cricket –
there was a time when there was a rule that substitute fielders would not be
allowed in specialist positions and substitution for Wicket keeper was not
allowed ! Way back in 1986
in the second Test at Leeds, Raman Lamba was in as a substitute fielder to Krishnamachari
Srikkanth. A few overs later - Srikkanth arrived on the field. None alerted
.. and the commentator was heard screaming – ‘5 men on the On and 5 on the Off’
– what sounds strange ! – hey there are 12 of them on the field ! – that was
for an entire over of Ravi Shastri.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
2nd Sept 2019.
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