Adelaide Strikers' fast bowler Kane Richardson felt "ill" when one of his deliveries in Saturday night's Big Bash League semi-final struck Sydney Sixers opener Riki Wessels and he saw the ball wedged between the peak of the batsman's helmet and protective facial grill.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wessels was unharmed but Richardson, one of three South Australian players who stood down from the Sheffield Shield match that followed the death of teammate Phillip Hughes after he was struck in the back of the neck while batting at the SCG, said the incident rattled him.
"It shook me up a bit," he said. "I felt ill after that and I was just so glad [Wessels] was all right. It's still all pretty raw for that to happen ... I think it's going to take a while ... I'm just relieved those helmets work well."
Wessels, the 29-year-old son of former Australia and South Africa Test opener Kepler, attempted to play Richardson's delivery on the front foot but he appeared to have been surprised by the last-second pace, angle and bounce of the ball. He followed the line of the ball with his eyes but it crashed into his helmet and became stuck. He kissed the helmet as a sign of gratitude for sparing him from injury but his replacement "crash hat" was also hit by a Shaun Tait delivery later in his innings. Fortunately, he was not hurt.
Richardson, who made a mighty impression during his T20 campaign, said he and his South Australian teammates were still deeply affected by Hughes' death and feared the resumption of the Sheffield Shield competition would be challenging. "We have to try and get through the rest of the season and it's going to be a battle, to be honest," he said. "We have to try and somehow get through it, and if we can win some matches that's going to be a bonus."
Sixers batsman Nic Maddinson, who stood down from the NSW side that played in the Shield match that followed Hughes' death, said the seconds that followed Wessels being struck were nerve-racking. "When someone gets hit in the head, you're not sure for about 10 or 20 seconds after it [to know if they're all right]," he said. "It was a relief to see Riki walk around OK. It's also good to know the new helmets offer better protection. I think had it been an old one the ball might've gone straight through the grill. It saved him from a bad knock to the eye."
