Cricket Australia to introduce ‘concussion substitutes’

The declassification of the reports following the untimely death of Phil Hughes has prompted Cricket Australia to take some pretty desperate steps. James Sutherland, the Chief Executive of the Australian cricket board has made the proposal of including ‘concussion substitutes’ in domestic matches. Reports at the moment suggest that Sutherland is in the process of obtaining approval for the same.

“We’re also seeking approval from the Cricket Australia playing conditions advisory committee to allow concussion substitutes in all domestic male and female competitions under our auspices,” he told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

“One of my observations is that while we support this recommendation being explored, I think it needs to be fully discussed and socialised.

“It is one of the fundamentals of the game of cricket that it’s a game of 11 players and a substitute has not been allowed in the past and we need to work through all of the machinations of that possibility.”

The laws of the game for over 100 odd years state that a substitute can replace an injured player on the field, but cannot bat or bowl.

“The fundamental issue here is the desire for medical staff to have the ultimate say in an incident of concussion to be able to make a judgement and to allow that to be facilitated as easy as possible,” added Sutherland.

“There are also instances in the game where other injuries occur that could give rise to a substitution,” he said.

“I think that again is part of why this needs to be a broader discussion.”

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