Phillip Hughes Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Writing

As a player for a local cricket team the death of Phillip Hughes shocked and saddened me and my team.^[a] The world had lost a young legend to the game when he was only at the age of 25. He had his entire career and life ahead of him and it was unfortunately ripped away from him. This goes to show the likelihood of an unfortunate event like this happening, what happened to Phillip Hughes was a one in a million chance but if a player wasn’t wearing any helmet the chance of a fatal hit is more than 100x more likely^[b]. Whilst playing domestic cricket, helmets are not a mandatory option and I myself will have to start playing senior cricket in a few years and I know for a fact that I will be wearing a helmet when I walk out onto the pitch, but I also know that many of my teammates wont, and I would hate to think about what will happen to them if they were to be struck by a ball. A ball travelling 140km/h on a hard wicket can be lethal, yet helmets are not mandatory for batters. Helmets should be a mandatory feature whilst playing cricket.

The tragic truth is that no batsman (or wicketkeeper, or fielder standing close to the batsman) is required by the rules of the game or their local governing body to wear any protective clothing whatsoever. The tragedy of Phillip Hughes occurred when the ball struck him on the back of the head when he failed to execute a pull shot, the helmet he was wearing was an old model with lousier and less advanced protection. He hit the ground almost immediately and whilst he was lying on the pitch with thousands watching his hear stopped before being resuscitated and sent to hospital. He then died a week later. He was one of the best in the world and anyone playing domestic cricket can’t match his skill, and what happened to him could happen to you.  It is time for the world's cricketing bodies, and cricketers themselves, to step out of the dark ages and start mandating for the safety of players.^[c]

From my own personal experience playing the sport I have seen many players be hit in the helmet because thankfully, junior cricketers in Australia are required by the governing rule makers to wear helmets. But in adult competitions like what my brother plays in, this requirement does not exist - not for helmets, not for anything.

Down at my club (the Preston Baseballers), we encourage players to wear helmets by providing the equipment for communal use and putting it in the club's kits. But time and time again I watch my friends and fellow team mates exit out onto the pitch without sufficient protection and I sometimes can’t help myself from looking away every time a bouncer in delivered. I understand that some players can feel like they should have a choice in the matter and I respect that and I respect your rights as a citizen to be able to say these things, but I strongly believe ^[d]that it isn’t worth the risk and that wearing a helmet is something that you can get used to quickly and when you get hit whilst wearing it, you’ll be thankful to god that It was on your head.