Moments after Phil Hughes was floored by a bouncer on Tuesday afternoon, an on-call doctor rushed to the middle with a first aid kit. The left-hander was administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation. About 25 minutes later, an ambulance arrived at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Then, a helicopter landed on the centre wicket as medical staff were working on the batsman. The chopper wasn't used, though. The ambulance ferried Hughes to St Vincent's Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.
It was a one-off incident, so to speak, but the good thing is that the authorities were well-equipped to deal with the situation.
The question is: how prepared are we to deal with such a mishap? The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has instructed its associations to be prepared for such incidents. "During international matches, we have tie-ups with hospitals. Everything, from doctors to ambulances, are readily available. And as far as first-class games are concerned, the associations have been told to keep everything ready," said Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI general manager (game development).
"We have insured all our players. Not only that, we have insured our umpires and scorers too. Meanwhile, it is the duty of the associations to take care of its cricketers," added Shetty.
Shetty said the Hughes incident will prompt authorities to take things seriously. "I was also shocked to read a report about an incident during a school match in Mumbai where a boy was injured but there was no medical aid or ambulance. Every association should provide medical facilities for local games too," he said.
Former India player and Mumbai coach Praveen Amre wants more to be done. "You may get all these facilities at Test centres, but what about the small towns. This casual attitude could hurt us in future. We have to be ready for these situations. In countries like Australia, a human being's life is valued. It's not the same in India," said Amre.
Saurashtra coach Sitanshu Kotak, who retired last year after two decades in domestic cicuit, was all praise for the facilities provided by the associations. He also narrated an incident where Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah was hit by a ball.
"Only recently, our captain Jaydev Shah was hit badly on the chest in a Ranji one-dayer. Immediately, the doctor attended to him. Jaydev had trouble breathing, so he was quickly taken to the hospital in an ambulance (stationed outside the ground). Forty minutes later, he was back on the field," said Kotak. "The BCCI is very particular as far as these things are concerned. The match referees are responsible for all this. If there is something lacking, they will be pulled up by the board so they have to be very particular," added Kotak.
Kotak is right.
A recently-retired match referee revealed that the most important aspect of his job was to ensure all this. "One the eve of every first-class match, I would make sure that the local association would call for an ambulance, paramedics and a doctor. In my seven years as a BCCI match referee, I never witnessed a Hughes-like incident. Thank God for that," he said.
