Paul Reiffel Misses Fifth Test Due To Head injury, Says No To Helmet
Dec 17, 2016 at 12:18 PM
Umpire Paul Reiffel has missed the fifth and final Test of a 5 match series between India and England due to a head injury. The Australian was hit on the head by a Bhuvneshwar Kumar throw on day one of the fourth Test which ruled him out for the rest of the series.
The scan reports showed there is nothing to worry about but he is advised to continue resting. He is all set to return to action in the series between New Zealand and Bangladesh which starts from 26th of December.
Fellow Australian umpire Simon Fry is officiating final Test in Chennai in a series which India lead 3-0.
Meanwhile, umpire Paul Reiffel, quite courageously, has dismissed the idea of wearing a helmet during Test matches despite the injury.
Reiffel was quoted saying, “It would be too heavy and too hot, five days with a helmet on, it just would be impossible. It’s hard to hear [with the helmet on]. I’ve put one on and thought ‘could I umpire in this?’, and I thought I’d really struggle.”
“Always keep your eye on the ball,” he said. “I just didn’t do it. I feel a bit silly not doing that. It’s like playing; if you watch the ball you should come out all right. It was just an accident. I’d back myself to get out of the way if I see it coming.”
“The batsmen had stopped running, the fieldsmen were taking their time. I must have relaxed and expected him to throw it to the keeper over my head and he decided to throw it halfway to the fieldsman. He got it wrong and hit me on the back of my head. It got me behind the ear and hit me flush, that’s what’s done the damage.”
The umpire was relieved by the fact that the ICC took the decision of resting him for the final Test match.
“Apart from that, I don’t really remember a lot about it. I suppose it did hurt. I’ve watched the replay and I went down pretty quick. I was rolling around a bit. It certainly shook me up.”