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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Henry L" data-source="post: 17429836" data-attributes="member: 260809">Phillip Hughes' injury reminds us of the fragility of our existence by Harsha Bhogle<img src="http://www.starsports.com/mm/Photo/Series/General/01/36/76/35/1367635_CUSTOM_1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <a href="http://www.starsports.com/cricket/video/vod/videoid=1367606/index.html#cricket-australia-reaction-hughes-injury" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.starsports.com/mm/Photo/Series/General/01/36/76/36/1367636_MEDIUM_4_3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a>   The  shattering, heart-rending injury to Phil Hughes reminds us of the  fragility of our existence. And it reminds us of the extraordinary skill  and bravery in a sport where putting bat to ball is taken for granted.  It tells us how hard a cricket ball really is, how fast it is propelled  and that the human body, for all its magnificent construction, is really  so vulnerable.We often say thank god for helmets but Hughes was wearing one and the  ball still found an unprotected area. How much do we cover? And so we  realise the kind of skill batsmen of the past had, for when subjected to  bowling as terrifying as today’s (or indeed even more so), they used  their bat to defend not just their wickets. It is not even a 22 yard  game, just about 19 yards really; and when the draggers were in full  swing, they reduced the distance between bowler and batsman even more.Does it, like everything else in life come down to luck? It is a  widely abused term in sport, and indeed in life, for it is often the  nail on which we hang our inability. It is our refuge, our shelter and  we use it to console, even fool, ourselves when in reality we weren’t  good enough. But on a day like this? Phil Hughes had missed a cricket  ball before. Many times. He had pulled and pulled well but he had missed  too. He had played fast bowling and I am sure he must have misjudged it  several times. Like every batsman who has played the game. There isn’t a  batsman who hasn’t had his heart in his mouth in that terrifying  instant when the ball is upon him and he isn’t ready with a shot in  response. It had to be luck.And we have all seen fear and come face to face with, if you are  lucky, what might have been. One late evening I did. We didn’t have  pitches when we were kids and we didn’t have protective gear, not even  abdomen guards. One evening, when we were barely visible to each other,  we talked ourselves into one more over. We were playing with a cork ball  and it can be very hard. We didn’t even bowl off 22 yards, just counted  the steps and plonked a stone there. And no-balls were very common and  very big. The bowler was quick, for a kid he certainly was. I lost sight  of the ball the moment it left his hand and next saw it on its way up  to me. Young instincts and a light bat meant I could swat at it just in  time and a top edge carried it far away. It could have hit me between my  eyes.One of my school team-mates wasn’t as lucky. We had a fast bowler who  bent his arm when he wasn’t happy. And he wasn’t happy with our opener  who taunted him by saying he didn’t need an abdomen guard against him.  Adolescent bravado met angry elbow. The result wasn’t pretty. Of course  the ball went where the guard should have been. He never played again  and with every passing day became a wreck. Of course it was stupidity,  and cruelty, but wasn’t it luck?Sometimes it takes one incident to make you question everything you  took for granted. Even your eyes, your reflexes, your instincts. There  must be many players in the world just now thinking: Could it have been  me? Or worse, could it still be me? Will they back their instincts to  swat a ball, or even to sway away from it, as it rears menacingly at  them? Will they be thinking of survival or domination? Will they be  focussing on their helmet or their bat? Or will time dull the fear and  revive the urge for combat?It is under this shadow that the series will now be played. There  will be fear but also the awareness that there is a larger purpose to  life than sport.Our sport, which has fed us with stories of bravery and valour, of  courage and determination, has come face to face with the most  terrifying question of all: life or death?</blockquote>

Verification: Hath warak paha keeyada? (hatha wadikireema paha)

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