There was a time when cricketers played without helmets, and during that era, bowlers were extremely fierce, consistently bowling at speeds of 150 km/h. In the 1970s and 80s, West Indies fast bowlers like Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, and Andy Roberts used to terrorize batsmen with their fiery pace. During this period, several life-threatening injuries occurred, and by the 1990s, the ICC made helmets mandatory in cricket.
Norway Cricketer’s Cheeky Reaction as Female Doctor Conducted Concussion Test
Today, whenever a ball hits the helmet, a concussion test is conducted for the batsman. The team’s doctor comes onto the field and asks the player a series of questions to assess their condition. Recently, a video from a match between Norway and Sweden has gone viral.
In the clip, Norway batsman Qamar Mushtaque attempts to pull a delivery but ends up taking the ball directly on his helmet. Immediately after, a woman enters the field—it was Norway’s team doctor, who had come to conduct a concussion test on the player.
In the video, the female doctor asks Qamar Mushtaque the mandatory concussion test questions, but it didn’t seem like the batter was injured at all. Qamar responds to the team doctor’s questions with a smile, clearly enjoying the moment. As the doctor finishes, she gives the batter a fist bump, which makes Qamar smile even more.
This light-hearted interaction has surfaced on X app, where users are making playful comments. One user humorously remarked, “If I were playing for Norway, I’d be getting injured on every ball.”
— Aflatoon (@afla_tune) October 13, 2024
Jokes aside, getting hit on the helmet by a ball is a serious matter. You might remember the tragic incident involving Phillip Hughes, who passed away after being struck by a bouncer in 2014, which sent shockwaves through the entire cricketing world. To prevent such incidents from happening again, the ICC has taken steps to improve player safety, including upgrading helmet protection standards.
In 2019, the ICC introduced the concussion substitute rule. According to this rule, if a player gets hit on the helmet and either fails the concussion test or feels unable to continue, the team can replace that player with a concussion substitute. This ensures that an injured player isn’t forced to keep playing, while still allowing the team to continue without a disadvantage.