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Concussion substitutes will be introduced for the Sheffield Shield Cricket after historic ruling

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The imminent rule change means if a batsman suffers a head knock, they can now be replaced at the crease by a like-for-like substitute, who would be permitted to bat, bowl and field.

“Cricket Australia has been a strong advocate for concussion substitutes and we have successfully introduced this into our other competitions,” said a CA spokesperson.

“We look forward to formalising the introduction of this rule into the Sheffield Shield ahead of this season.”

For as long as the game has been played, Test cricket has always strictly been about the XI chosen and if injury occurs, it’s either battle on or let your teammates suffer the consequences.
However, in light of compelling evidence about athletes and brain trauma, that attitude simply doesn’t cut it in modern sport.

The MCC Cricket Committee spearheaded by Ricky Ponting and other former greats declared in June the game must take concussion seriously, and the push for concussion subs to enter first-class cricket has since been ratified by the ICC chief executives committee.

Member nations can trial concussion subs in first-class competitions from October 1, with the ICC now making the necessary changes to the Official Classification of Cricket to make that possible.

After that final box has been ticked, CA will immediately announce concussion subs will be part of the Shield competition, after last summer leading the way by introducing the safety-first playing condition in all domestic one-day and T20 competitions.

The ICC will monitor the trial but the Cricket Committee has given its preliminary endorsement for concussion subs to be introduced in international cricket in two years.

NSW opener Daniel Hughes became the first player to be officially subbed for concussion in last summer’s Matador Cup, when he was struck on the helmet by Peter Siddle and replaced in the Blues’ batting line-up by Nick Larkin.

However, with ICC rules not allowing concussion subs for last year’s Shield, there was an ugly incident in a first-class match between Victoria and South Australia where the Redbacks refused their opponents a keeping replacement after gloveman Sam Harper was inadvertently smacked in the head with a bat standing up to the stumps.

The rule change would remove those decisions from the hands of players and umpires and make the head sacrosanct when it comes to the treatment of injuries.

The Australian cricket team is already governed by a strict concussion policy which has resulted in Chris Rogers being ruled out of Tests.

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/ap...g/news-story/e30a0209bc2b0b831bd3fd987dd606ad
 
Thats excellent news but then we will get into arguments about whether the concussion was strong enough or not.
 
Thats excellent news but then we will get into arguments about whether the concussion was strong enough or not.

Spot on. If a player is not doing well against for example, bouncers and gets hit then he can pretend to get a concussion. On the contrary, it is also fair to have sub if a player is genuinely injured. Another thing can do is let any team make a substitute at lunch time.

So if a batsmen is injured he can be replaced with a bowler/fielder in the second innings.

Vice versa, if a bowler gets injured we can replace him with another player...perhaps a better batsmen.

It's all about tactics. If football can have them why can't cricket? Nothing to do with not being fair in my opinion.
 
Spot on. If a player is not doing well against for example, bouncers and gets hit then he can pretend to get a concussion. On the contrary, it is also fair to have sub if a player is genuinely injured. Another thing can do is let any team make a substitute at lunch time.

So if a batsmen is injured he can be replaced with a bowler/fielder in the second innings.

Vice versa, if a bowler gets injured we can replace him with another player...perhaps a better batsmen.

It's all about tactics. If football can have them why can't cricket? Nothing to do with not being fair in my opinion.

To try and get an accurate idea of the seriousness of the issue we will need a portable MRI!

How bad is a bad concussion will be the issue
 
I think there should be a clause where the substitute has to be sent immediately after the injury. E.g. if a batsman who bats at 3 gets injured, the next batsman (number 4) from the original squad should not be allowed to go in. Rather, the substitute should be sent in immediately.
 
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