'I thought helmets would help. So, I took a motorcycle helmet with a polycarbonate visor to WSC.'
Safety equipment in cricket have seen a generational shift in standards since Dennis Amiss wore a motorcycle helmet against the fearsome fast bowlers of 1970s, but the pioneering former England opener understands that rare fatalities such as the tragic death of Australian Phillip Hughes cannot be ruled out entirely.
Amiss reshaped the game forever by wearing a rather heavy motorcycle helmet with a polycarbonate visor in the World Series Cricket (WSC) staged between 1977 and 1979 in Australia.
Some of the best fast bowlers of the time such as Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thompson, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Imran Khan played in the WSC.
“People would say that because you were the first person to take a helmet. I went to the WSC. There were 19 fast bowlers who could bowl at 90 miles an hour. Having faced Lillie and Thompson two years previously, knowing the difficulties they gave us, I thought the head is so important,” Amiss told PTI.
“If you get hit, there's serious consequences. As we saw with Philip Hughes, when he got hit on that vein there and died on the pitch, which was a terrible situation. So, I thought helmets would help. So, I took a motorcycle helmet with a polycarbonate visor to WSC,” said Amiss.
Amiss, who played 50 Tests and is the first batter to score a hundred in ODIs, was expectedly sledged initially.
“I got a lot of stick for it. 'Hey, Amos, where's your motorbike?' But David Hookes got his jaw broken in one match. He was sipping through a straw for six weeks. He said, 'can I borrow your helmet? I've got to play Andy Roberts.' He did.
“The first ball he faced bounced straight at his head, and he hooked it for six, which was a great moment. I was watching it and Richie Benaud said that was the defining moment in cricket. This chap's been sipping through a straw for six weeks, having had his jaw broken.
“He's got the same bowler, the same ground, pacy wicket, he's hooked it for six out of the ground,” said the 82-year-old.
You can never be 100% sure about player safety
Hughes's untimely death resulted in the ICC bringing in several changes to improve player safety including the introduction of a concussion substitute in Test cricket.
Amiss feels the authorities have done a decent job in protecting cricketers but the incident involving Hughes shows that the danger will always lurk around.
“If you do put more protective material in, you're going to make it heavier. But it's much lighter now than it ever was before. And it was very heavy and very hot.
“I played in Madura (in New South Wales), I think it was. It was humid and hot. I batted all morning against the Aussies, and I nearly passed out. So that was the first one, which was heavy and hot. But then we put in the metal bars, and made it a bit lighter.
“I don't think you can be 100% there, but I think we've done a pretty good job in protecting people. I mean, Philip Hughes was very, very unlucky,” said Amiss.
