Pakistan great Waqar Younis has questioned whether Sean Abbott would continue in cricket after delivering the ball that led to the tragic death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes.
The cricket world was united in grief after it was announced on Thursday that Hughes, due to celebrate his 26th birthday on Sunday, had died having failed to regain consciousness after being hit on the base of his skull trying to hook a bouncer from Abbott while batting for South Australia against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Abbott continues to receive an outpouring of support and well wishes from concerned teammates and counsellors in Sydney – while Australian Cricketers Association chief Alistair Nicholson noted on Wednesday that Abbott was being monitored closely.
But Waqar wonders where it leaves the young allrounder’s future.
“How will he (Abbott) continue?,” Waqar, one of the outstanding fast bowlers of his generation and now Pakistan’s coach, told AFP.
“He needs counselling, which I am sure must have started, and needs to stay calm.”
But former England fast bowler David Lawrence said he feared Abbott may never player cricket again as a result of the tragedy.
Lawrence is well-placed to understand Abbott’s situation having, as a 24-year-old paceman, bowled the ball that hit West Indies’ batsman Phil Simmons – who wasn’t wearing a helmet – on the head in a tour match.
Simmons went on to make a full recovery but only after his heart stopped and undergoing emergency brain surgery.
“He collapsed. They rushed him to hospital, and were able to save his life and take a blood clot off his brain – and he subsequently went on to play again,” Lawrence told BBC World News.
Lawrence said the fact he could talk to Simmons was a huge help and he wondered how Abbott would be able to continue bowling in the absence of such consolation.
“What gave me comfort was I was able to see Phil Simmons 48 hours after, and he was able to tell me it wasn’t my fault,” recalled the now 50-year-old Lawrence.
“The bowler in this instance wouldn’t have been able to do that. Hughes didn’t make a recovery, he (Abbott) wasn’t able to talk to him.
“So my thoughts go out to him as well – because whether he will come back from this or not, personally I don’t think he’ll play cricket again.”
Former England fast bowler Stephen Harmison said he hoped the 22-year-old Abbott ‘fulfilled his potential’, telling Sky Sports: “He’s playing the game that he loves and wants to represent Australia and for this to happen to him at such a young age…
“I hope he gets close to fulfilling the potential he’s got because nobody can even contemplate what’s going through that boy’s mind at this moment in time.”
