Here's why the Aussies are more likely to be hit on the head

This technical flaw might be one reason why we are seeing so many Australian batsmen being hit on the head in recent years

For all the talk about India's historical weakness against the short ball on Australian pitches, it is Australia's batsmen who are more likely to actually be hit on the head this series. It's also why Australia might actually score quicker—their techniques are much more geared towards eschewing the defensive option and taking on the pull and hook shots, often off the front foot. This technical flaw might be one reason why we are seeing so many Australian batsmen being hit on the head in recent years.

Kim Hughes, a brilliant player of fast bowling, his golden curls poking out jauntily from under his baggy cap, spoke eloquently about why so many local batsmen are copping head knocks from fast bowlers. Hughes played a lot of his cricket at the WACA when it was super-fast and bouncy. His generation rarely took on the short ball from an initial forward-press movement. Ducking and weaving was their method; when they did hook, it was the traditional swivel off the back foot. Helmets were rarely worn in that era so batsmen simply didn't risk playing the sort of shot that felled Will Pucovski last week. It meant they often didn't score off those short balls but it may also explain why, despite wearing helmets, the frequency of batting concussions are ridiculously high in the modern game.

Coaching young cricketers in Brisbane (including my son and daughter who are both playing first-grade), I am in constant fear of their fearlessness. They don a helmet and think it makes them invincible, often opening up that front leg in T20 mode and thereby giving them a 360 degree hitting range but also making them so vulnerable to extra bounce or top edges. The old adage of watching the short ball is rarely observed. The hitting is clean but in 35 years of playing senior cricket, I have never seen so many smashed helmets and sore heads. I can't speak for what happens in India but I would be surprised if borderline first-class batsman are not still brought up in a very classical mode, learning to protect their heads at all costs.

This is why I think India's batsmen may be sconed less often this series. Most of them have old-fashioned techniques, back and across, minimal movement and they don't hook/pull instinctively like the Australians. Cheteshwar Pujara is the perfect example. His style of batting is attritional. He might get caught in the leg trap if they target his ribs but I can't see him taking on the hook shot until he is well and truly set. Virat Kohli, for all his short-form savagery, plays Test cricket with a different mindset. His technique too is less likely to result in him getting concussed from an aggressive shot. Rishabh Pant may be the only exception in the Indian Top-7—the way he sets up for the short ball may expose him to that fate more than any of the other Indians who are much more conventional with their feet and with their intent to play this risky shot.

Australia on the other hand have Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne who have exaggerated movements. It makes them almost impossible to contain but with skiddy bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, it also exposes them to any vagaries of bounce or visibility under floodlights. I'm not suggesting they won't score heavily but with the way the modern Australian batsman has been coached, I think they are at higher risk of a head knock. Many of them have also developed a habit of turning their head away when ducking, a dangerous thing to do when someone like Bumrah follows you with his awkward action.

This may sound like an outlandish statement but squad selection may have to factor in a possible concussion replacement. We know that medical staff err on the conservative side if there is a head injury so it's no longer a far-fetched possibility. It may also be worth pointing out that the strict wording of the rules is not as straightforward as a like-for-like replacement.

In the recent Jadeja case, you could argue that this Playing Condition was not upheld because his leg injury would certainly have affected his ability to perform "normally" during the remainder of the match.  It will be interesting to see whether the Match Referees enforce this more strictly if a concussion substitution is called for.  Maybe that's why Labuschagne is almost a mirror image of his idol Smith.  He may have thought that when he 'subbed' in for him at Lord's in 2019, he had to bat just like him too.  Imitation may indeed be the sincerest form of flattery but unless you can exhume The Don, surely there is only one Kohli!

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