‘More bowlers should wear helmets’
New Zealand fast-bowler Andrew Ellis was hit for a bizarre six during the playoff between Auckland and Canterbury in the Ford Trophy on Wednesday. The Canterbury quick was hit for an over-boundary which apparently ricocheted off his head and went over the rope.
Kiwi Test opener Jeet Raval clubbed 149 runs to help Auckland reach the final of New Zealand’s List-A tournament. He smashed 10 fours and 4 sixes, second of which resulted in the unusual occurrence.
Following the incident, Ellis quickly passed a concussion test and returned to the field. Coming back into the attack in the death overs for a four-over spell, including the final over, the Canterbury captain picked up two wickets, including that of Raval.
However, Andrew Ellis did not get the last laugh as Auckland defeated Canterbury by 107 runs. The winners will face Central Districts on February 24.
Another New Zealand cricketer Warren Barnes had become the first bowler using a helmet while bowling in December, last year. He believes that the day is not far away when the laws would be made to protect the bowlers.
Regarding Ellis’ incident, Barnes reportedly said, "The face mask was originally there to stop me from getting hit, as my follow through kept my eyes off the ball more than other bowlers. But as we have seen in a few cases around the world any bowler has the chance to get hit".
"I do hope more and more bowlers look into some sort of face protection especially around the T20 game. As batters are hitting the ball harder and harder every year, it only makes sense to protect the bowlers, as in most cases they are the closest person the batter when it gets hit".
"The game is already made some big changes around protecting batters and even umpires from getting hit in certain places, so I think it’s just a matter of time before we see laws brought in to protect bowlers”, he further added.
"Andrew Ellis was struck in the head and the ball went a distance of approx 60 meters on the full after being struck for a boundary 6. Andrew was assessed immediately and reported no signs of headaches or symptoms of a concussion.
He continued to bowl and also to bat later in the day without symptoms", the bowler's coach, Gary Stead said.
"Given the extremity and force of the ball strike, we will continue to monitor and have Andrew assessed by appropriate medical practitioners".
"Andrew is a tough cricketer and I think was lucky to not have sustained any significant damage. He received a small graze to the top of the head where the ball struck but nothing more than that. Whether Andrew chooses to wear a helmet in the future will be up to him", the coach concluded.
