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Cricket: Bouncers, do you really want them ??

Phil Hughes passes away following neck injury
The Australian cricketer (who played for the Mumbai Indians in IPL), 25, never regained consciousness after a fatal blow to his neck on Tuesday 18/11/2014.
Cricket has been stunned by the tragic death of Australian batsman Phil Hughes at the age of just 25. Hughes died two days after being struck on the back of the head by a bouncer from Sean Abbott while batting for South Australia against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The incident had brought into question the safety of the sport and the effectiveness of the helmets that batsmen wear.

Phil Hughes, once compared to the great Donald Bradman, Australia Test cricketer passed away on Thursday 20/11 in Sydney following a fatal injury he had incurred in a Sheffield Shield match on Tuesday,18/11. Hughes would have turned 26 on Sunday 23/11/2014.
During this game for South Australia against New South Wales, Hughes was batting on 63 when he was struck on neck by a bouncer from pace bowler Sean Abbott. Hughes stood dazed for a few moments before falling face first to the pitch. He did not gain consciousness again.

Now the questions in our minds are:
1. Is Cricket, still a gentleman game and
2. How safe are the batsmen against the Bouncers from a fast bowlers.

1.The answer for the first question is, now the Cricket is not a gentleman's game. In the present scenario of the "Commercial Cricket" the "money making" is the only slogan of the teams and the controlling bodies. Name "fair play" is only namesake and the teams are busy otherwise.
2.Before going for the answer for the second question, let us have a look at the origin and the time line of "BOUNCERS" in the cricket.

In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler.
It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height (or even higher) as it reaches the batsman. Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his back foot if he has been freely playing front foot scoring shots, such as drives. To this end, bouncers are usually directed more or less at the line of the batsman's body. Aiming at the batsman is not illegal provided the ball bounces on the pitch or is below the waist height, and is a tactically important part of the game.
Aiming at the batsman's head without bouncing on the pitch, known as a beamer, is illegal.
Conversely, the bouncer can be a very productive ball for the batsman, if he plays it in an attacking manner. The shot that is used to attack the bouncer is the hook shot. To play the hook shot the batsman moves his back foot backwards and towards the off side as the ball is being delivered. As the ball approaches,
So, as per the "Laws of Cricket" the "Bouncer" is a legal one and it is the batsman's skill to tackle it.

Birth of Bouncers:
Short-pitched bowling goes back to the infamous Bodyline series of 1932 between England and Australia, when Australia's Bert Oldfield's skull was fractured by a bouncer. Under the instructions of captain Douglas Jardine, Harold Larwood ( A small fast bowler from the mines of Nottingham, he bowled like lightning and was the perfect man for the bumper-filled plan)
How fast was he?
Speed cameras were decades away from being invented, but researchers somehow worked out a way to register Larwood's bowling at 96mph. Jeff Thomson holds the record at 99.7mph.) was instructed to bowl short-pitched bowling aimed at the body. This and other incidents prompted an outcry against the tactics.

Bodyline Bowling:It was named after where the England bowlers were aiming - the line of the body - during the 1932-33 Ashes series in Australia. There were no fielding restrictions, so players were planted in a close ring, or leg trap, around the batsman on the legside. They were ready to accept the fended catches from the short-pitched deliveries and bouncers, while the men on the boundary collected the shots that passed through or over the infield. It was a tactic that was not only life threatening, but it also made it incredibly difficult for the batsmen to score as they had little room - or time - to swing at the ball. Rule changes after Bodyline led to limits of no more than two fielders being allowed between the square-leg umpire and the wicketkeeper on the leg side.
The Ashes Because of Don Bradman. After frightening England in 1930 with 974 runs in five Tests, Bradman was England's greatest danger. Douglas Jardine, the England captain, knew if he could beat Bradman he could defeat Australia, so he planned his strategy, which he called leg theory, around a pace attack of Harold Larwood, Bill Voce, Bill Bowes and Gubby Allen. Bradman missed the first Test due to illness and was out first ball scoring Duck( see video in the side bar) but he scored 103 in the next innings.
Did it work? Statistically, yes. England won 4-1 and Bradman's series average was 56.57, the worst of his career.
Based on the above tactics, the west Indian bowlers widely used Bouncers, without any restrictions in a over and intimadated the batsmen.
A whole host of West Indian bowlers over the generations have used short balls. More than50odd batsmen in the first class cricket were injured by the West Indian fast bowlers. Whereas the Australian speedsters Dennis Lillie, Jeff Thomson and more recently Brett Lee have intimidated batsmen. Ishant Sharma of India has also known for his bouncers and intimidating the batsman. Sohib aktar of Pakistan and Lasit Malinga are also known for their bouncers
So, the short pitched balls called "bouncers" and intimidating the batsmen are the tactics used by teams to win.

What is the rule for "Bouncers"
ICC rules: During the 1970s to 1980s, bouncers were used as part of a team's intimidatory tactics, especially by the West Indies team. In 1991, the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced a "one bouncer per batsman per over" rule in an attempt to discourage use of intimidation. However, the ruling was not well received by players and umpires alike, with English umpire Dickie Bird describing it as "farcical" as he felt that calling intimidatory tactics should be left to the umpire.[1] The ICC changed it to two bouncers per over in 1994, with a two-run no-ball penalty (rather than one-run no-ball) if the bowler exceeded two bouncers an over.
[2] The ICC reverted again to one bouncer per over in 2001 (and a one-run no-ball in case a bowler exceeded the limit).
[3] On October 29, 2012 the ICC increased the number of bouncers that could be bowled during a One Day International to two per over.
[4] The number of bouncers per over allowed in T20s was kept to one.

Should the "bouncers" be banned in Cricket?............read more....