Australian batsman Phillip Hughes on Thursday became the first international cricketer to die from an injury suffered while batting, plunging the cricketing world into mourning and sparking a debate on how to make the game safer.

The 25-year-old Hughes, who played 26 Tests for Australia, suffered massive bleeding in his brain after playing too early at Sean Abbot's bouncer and taking a blow behind his left ear, below the helmet, in a Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales on Tuesday.

"He never regained consciousness following his injury," Australian team doctor Peter Brukner said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a fierce debate erupted over how to make cricket safer. Some called for a complete ban on bouncers, saying that cricket is not worth dying for. But others dissented, arguing that this would only acccentuate the growing imbalance in the game, already loaded in favour of batsmen. They also pointed out that injury suffered by Hughes was an extremely rare one.

Some also argued that the real fault was in a diminishing of batsmen's technical skills against the short ball. Former England captain Michael Atherton, an opening batsman, wrote in Wednesday's edition of The Times of London, "Maybe helmets had made us a little complacent. Certainly, they have changed the game beyond all recognition".

The tragedy was compounded by the possibility that Hughes could have survived if he had been wearing better headgear. The Masuri helmet that he was using left a significant part of the neck exposed. The latest model of the helmet has a larger front grille and greater neck protection. Most top Indian cricketers prefer to use Forma helmets, which have deeper protection at the back.

The Indian team immediately cancelled a two-day practice match against Cricket Australia XI as a mark of respect to Hughes. In Sharjah, the second day's play of the third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand was called off.

Several former Australian cricketers also suggested that the first Test between India and Australia, scheduled to start next Thursday, be called off. Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar too said, "Nobody would be in the right frame of mind to play ... It's something the boards will have to look at."

Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More is a minor shareholder with Forma Sports which supplies helmets. Sachin Tendulkar interacted closely with More during his playing days because he was very particular about his head gear.

"Compared to the Forma, the Masuri helmet is lighter and fancier but it compromises on the safety aspect. The lack of proper grills and enough cushion at the back of the head has been its problem," former India wicketkeeper Kiran More told TOI on Thursday.

"Players like (Brian) Lara, (Ramnaresh) Sarwan and (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul all shifted to the Forma helmets after being hit on the head. Rahul Dravid also switched to Forma after being hit on the Bangladesh tour," More said.

Atherton added that whereas in the pre-helmet era batsmen generally hooked cautiously and infrequently off the back foot, helmet-wearing players were emboldened to hook off the front foot, a potentially riskier option.

Hughes was hit while attempting an attacking shot and playing the stroke too early. How to make cricket safer was a big talking point on Thursday. An option may be for standardized head-gear to be made mandatory at all levels of cricket. Some cricketers may be reluctant to use safer helmets because they believe these impede movement and mobility. In that case, having standardised headwear would put everyone at an equal disadvantage.

Phil Hughes died young, his huge promise unfulfilled. The game's administrators must do everything in their power to ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated.

Source: TOI