Australia wicketkeper Matthew Wade has thrown his weight behind the use of a concussion substitute in first-class games after his Victoria Bushrangers teammate Sam Harper was hospitalised following a mishap during a Sheffield Shield game last week.
Harper was taken off the field after he was hit on the head by Jake Lehmann’s bat. The accident happened when Harper was standing up to the stumps on the bowling of spinner Jon Holland. Lehmann, looking to hit a short ball to leg-side, struck Harper in his follow through.
Victoria then requested for a substitute player to take Harper’s place for the remainder of the match but it was denied by their opponents, South Australia. And according to rules, a team is allowed to field a substitute player only after both rival captains give the green light.
Later, Cricket Australia’s Head of Cricket Operations Sean Cary said the Bushrangers might have lost the points they had won from their win against South Australia had they fielded a substitute as under the current international laws of the game, the use of a concussion substitute is not allowed in matches carrying first-class status. However, Wade has now said the rules are in dire need of amendment.
“I definitely think it’s something we should look at for first-class level, for sure,” Wade said in Mumbai on Thursday (February 16) where Australia are preparing for the upcoming Border-Gavasker series that begins in Pune next week.
“Obviously to play with 10 people is hard work, we (Victoria) got the result in Adelaide which was nice but it’s something I think that will seriously be looked at.
“The players are starting to come around more and more with this issue, that we’ve got to look after the players first and you don’t want people to be playing with 10 men because someone got hit with a cricket bat,” he added.
“I can’t speak for all the players, but it’s something I’m sure the ACA (Australian Cricketers’ Association) will sit down and speak to the players about. “It’s something we’ve definitely got to look at, at first-class level,” said the 29-year old.
Harper’s accident came within a month after Peter Neville was hit on the face by Brad Hodge’s bat during a Big Bash League (BBL) game. And admitting the accidents were freak, Wade hoped that wicketkeeper would use more protective gears in future.
“I’m sure there will be people looking to put guards on helmets and all kinds of things now, so we’ll just what plays out there,” Wade said.
“It’s a tough one – what do you do?”
“You can’t really draw a line and make the keeper stand a metre from the bat, everyone will just keep running down the wickets.
“So it just is what it is. I know that it’s a bit of a freak accident, to get through the grille (of the protective helmet) and hit someone in the face is unbelievable,” he concluded.