Mark Boucher happy with ICC's decision to use tethered bails

Cricket is a sport where the risk of injury is pretty high for the players. We have seen players getting hurt by the ball many times but the ones behind the stumps, wicketkeepers have a different threat altogether. There have been keepers who had to retire prematurely as they sustained career-ending injuries.

One of the best wicketkeepers of all-time Mark Boucher is a cricketer who had to retire untimely due to an eye injury. Boucher was hit in the eye with the bails after they were dislodged by the ball during an international game in July of 2012. It didn’t look really serious at the time but eventually forced him to end his playing career. The incident got everyone in the cricket fraternity thinking and now the International Cricket Council (ICC) has made a decision in this regards.

ICC has officially decided to use tethered bails instead of normal bails. This move comes in after several incidents like Boucher’s were recorded at different levels. The South African is very happy that the ICC has finally acted upon the security of the wicketkeepers and had a lot to say. The tethered bails will be tied up with the stumps and will fly only a certain length.

The inventors have looked after the fact that the tethers will not have any effect on the dislodging of the bails. This will ensure the safety of wicketkeepers and reduce the rate of injuries.

Happy with the decision

Boucher was very happy with the ICC’s decision. The retired South African cricketer said that he liked the decision ICC has taken and congratulated them for the same. He also complimented the innovators for coming up with the idea.

“This new innovation and laws passed, will hopefully ensure that a career-ending injury like mine and a few others in the game, never happens again. Well done to the ICC! An accident like mine should serve a purpose in tightening up safety precautions and prolonging players careers without unnecessary injuries,” he said.

“I’m very happy that sense has finally prevailed. Players and in particular, wicketkeepers safety, should always be of the utmost importance,” Boucher opined while talking to Kashmir Times.

He also said that he doesn’t know of any other international cricketers who was hurt in a similar manner though India’s MS Dhoni was also hit in the eye, fortunately, that was a minor injury. “I don’t know of any others in international cricket, only 1 or 2 school kids. Dhoni got hit, but fortunately didn’t damage his eye too badly,” Mark concluded.