Sitting in the crowd watching a Sydney Sixers game this past summer, it was easy to marvel at the sublime hitting skills of Jordan Silk as he smashed six after six into the crowd.

But as a parent, I found myself being watchful like never before at the cricket.

What if we were distracted by an iPad, or iPhone, and one of those ever-more-frequently-hit sixes was heading straight for us?

In the past, sixes were rare. Now in 20/20 games both domestically and internationally, balls are flying into the crowd at dangerous speeds. Crowds where children and parents often lose focus on the game.

Some recent news items show this worrying trend for players and the public alike:

– a British club cricketer died after being hit in the chest by a cricket ball

– an Indian policeman was blinded after being hit by a David Miller six in the IPL

– an Israeli cricket umpire died after being struck by a ball

– and of course who can ever forget the heart-wrenching reality of much-loved Aussie & NSW cricketer Phil Hughes passing away after being hit by a bouncer?

It’s thus inevitable that we’ll be hearing lot more in the coming years about cricket injury compensation lawyers in Australia where cricket is its most macho, but also in other countries where cricket is massively popular such as South Africa, India, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and New Zealand.

In the past it was expected that when it came to sporting injuries to players, it was a case of “suck it up princess” but this viewpoint is certainly coming to an end. Life is precious and sacred and people don’t like being permanently injured or having a family member or friend killed in sport any more. We’re seeing deaths in rugby, server injuries in ever-more-frenzied AFL games and certainly in amateur sports, they’re often swept under the carpet. But this is changing.

If you’ve been severely injured by a cricket ball, you’d be aware of the risk. If you have a story of a cricketing injury you want to discuss with us, or add to this story, feel free to contact us with more details.