Steve Smith’s concussion raises troubling memories for Australian cricket
(CNN) — The chunk crunched from the Australian cricketer’s forearm. Shortly afterwards, a second windmill into Steve Smith’s throat — just beneath his left ear — poleaxing the batsman.
Unflappable, unwavering and unflustered — since he was during this Ashes series — Smith had looked on track for tis third straight century on Saturday before, beneath a muddy, gray sky, England fast bowler Jofra Archer started to unsettle the 30-year-old Australian.
During a fiery spell which comprised a delivery at 96mph, both Archer and Smith moved toe-to-toe like a few heavyweight boxers in a contest that had viewers gripped.
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A race to become fit
Scans later showed no fracture on to Smith’s arm but the 92mph bouncer that cannoned into the Australian’s neck turned out to have had a much more lasting effect.
Back in the living area, Smith was originally put through routine tests by Australian team physician Richard Saw, and also the batsman returned to the game on Saturday before finally being dismissed for 92.
However, after the close of play on Saturday, Smith complained of headaches and was then ruled out of the rest of the game on Sunday — Marnus Labuschagne getting the very first concussion substitute at a Test.
The third Test starts on Thursday in Leeds, but the 30-year-old Australian will not be racing his return.
“It’s obviously a quick turnaround between Test matches,” Smith said on Sunday.
“I’m likely to be assessed within the next five or six days, every day a couple of occasions, to see how I am feeling and how I am progressing.
“I am hopeful I’ll be available for that Test match, but it is definitely up to the health team and we will have discussions.
“It’s definitely an area of concern, concussion, and I want to be 100 percent fit. I have got to have the ability to train a few days out and after that face fast bowling to be certain my reaction time is set up.”
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A dark reminder
The sight of the Australian batsmen lying on the ground was struck by a baseball ball brought back several upsetting memories for Australian cricket.
In 2014, Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died aged 25, two weeks after being hit in the head with a ball when batting at a domestic match.
Following Hughes’ horrible departure, modifications were made to further protect batsmen, together with stem guards made and created optional for players to wear on their helmets.
After initially not feeling comfortable playing with the guards on his helmet,” Smith considers he might have to reconsider his position on them after this recent incident.
“I believe I, along with a couple different players in the team, find it a little bit different, uncomfortable in comparison to what we’re used to,” he said.
“I believe a little bit claustrophobic when it’s on. I feel as though I’m enclosed rather than too comfortable.
“It is certainly something I want to probably take a look in and perhaps try from the nets and see whether I can find a way to get comfortable with it.”
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The correct Choice
Research completed by Cricket Australia shows that delayed concussion — where symptoms don’t develop until a few hours after the initial blow — occur in approximately 30 percent of cases.
In the second Test at Lord’s, three players had been struck on the head and Smith was the only player to undergo a concussion.
And given only around 20 percent of head impacts in cricket lead to a concussion, Alex Kountouris, Cricket Australia’s manager of sport medicine, considers removing a player from the game each time they had been struck at the head could be unnecessary.
“The reality is just about one in six or five mind affects wind up in concussion,” Kountouris said in a press conference in Australia on Monday.
“When we pulled out each participant who had a head impact, we’d be pulling out 80 percent of gamers who do not possess a concussion and carrying them from the match. So that would be an overreaction.
“If you have a take a look at that game, there were three other head impacts and only Steve needed a concussion.
“He didn’t have a concussion at the time (he was struck ) so that he was permitted to perform. If we took him from the game, we would have been leaving him out of the game for no reason other than what we saw on the area.”
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Following protocols
Kountouris also said he was”100 percent” satisfied by Dr. Saw’s treatment of Smith.
“In the end of the afternoon, our doctor pulled him out of day five of the Test match, which was a fairly critical area of the match,” he explained.
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“Our doctor is an authority in his area, he’s trained to pick up the little signs of concussion.
“(He) was brilliant. He did was based on the protocol, he was quite thorough, and we understand he is very comprehensive. We’re 100% pleased with what happened around.”
Australian lead the series 1-0.