ICC World Cup 2019 | I think it’s a good decision, says Aaron Finch on concussion substitutes debate
Aaron Finch has said that he backs the idea of allowing like for like replacements during a game if a player has a concussion on being hit on the head. He stated that it is unfair for a team to suffer because of an accident and that a player’s health is more important than the game.
In the very first match of the World Cup, South Africa saw their talismanic batsman Hashim Amla get hit on the head by a fierce bouncer and Jofra Archer and return to the pavilion for the time being. Though he did return later, he was clearly not at a hundred percent, as was further evidenced by his exclusion from the starting lineup for the next game.
Given his record in ODIs, it was quite a setback for the team, one from which they never recovered and ended up losing without much of a fight. The incident brought back to the front the long ongoing debate of whether substitutes who can bat and bowl should be allowed for the concussed player. Finch is all for it.
“I know that it has worked in Australian domestic cricket. The last thing you want is people getting hit obviously, but if there is, you also don't want the game to be determined by someone getting hit and then being out of the game. If that happens in the first over, that's a huge disadvantage,” Finch stated.
The debate had brewed strongly after Phil Hughes’ unfortunate death in 2014, soon after which Australian and England domestic cricket setups started allowing substitutes for the concussed players, among other countries. In England, only like replacements are allowed, as in a pacer can only be replaced by a pacer and not by a spinner. Finch feels it’ll do the game good to introduce this concept in international cricket too.
“If everyone plays ball. I think it’s a good decision. It’s all about the safety of the player and at the end of the day, the game of cricket it's important as someone's health,” he concluded.
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