Cricket Australia has confirmed it will "commission an independent review into the death of batsman Phillip Hughes," according to the BBC. Hughes died in November aged 25, "two days after being struck on the top of the neck by a delivery during a domestic match in Sydney." A CA statement read, "We have a responsibility and obligation to look into the events of that day." CA CEO James Sutherland added, "When this tragedy happened, I said that it was a freak accident, but it was one freak accident too many. Never again do we want to see something like that happen on a cricket field" (BBC, 5/14). In Sydney, Chris Barrett reported an inquiry into Hughes' death "could result in newly designed safety helmets being made mandatory." CA said that Victorian lawyer David Curtain's review will investigate the "causes and circumstances"
of Hughes' fatal injury, the governing body's "approach to mandating and
enforcing the wearing of equipment that protects the head and heart and
considerations around helmet certification standards and suitability." It would also look into CA's medical screening of players, "especially
those players with particular vulnerabilities," the sport's head trauma
and concussion policy and "the level of medical support provided at
venues." The helmet, developed in the wake of Hughes' death, "features a clip-on 'honeycomb' design guard made of plastic and foam that protects the back of the neck, the place where the 25-year-old was hit" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 5/14).
