IPL 2016: Bouncer's blow was like getting hit on the face by a truck, says George Bailey
Rising Pune Supergiants batsman George Bailey said that being struck on the helmet by the bouncer bowled by Nathan Coulter-Nile was "like getting hit in the face by a truck”. The incident happened in the second innings during the match against Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday in Visakhapatnam.
During the last delivery of the seventh over of the RPSG innings, Coulter-Nile bowled a short delivery to his fellow Australian, which hit Bailey on the head, causing his helmet to detach and fall behind the stumps. Bailey, however, was unscathed by the incident and seemed to be more worried about the helmet hitting the stumps.
“Those watching on TV got a better picture than I did because all I sort of remember was it was like getting hit in the face by a truck,” the former Australian T20 captain said. “It was pretty quick. I was quite glad to have one of the new helmets on.”
Bailey had top-edged the ball before it struck the grill of his helmet. Much to the relief of everyone on the ground, he was uninjured. Coulter-Nile was seen concerned about him, while the other fielders rushed to check if he was fine.
"A couple of them were disappointed that the helmet hadn't rolled onto the stumps. But, most people were just checking on me and how I was," he said.
Last week, Cricket Australia had made a decision to make helmets compulsory while batting against pacers, following a review into the death of Phillip Hughes, who died in 2014 after suffering a blow on the head hit by a bouncer. It was also said that the batsmen's helmets must adhere to the highest British standard which offers extra protection.
Also read: Safer helmet unlikely to have saved Hughes - report
The Tasmanian batsman came to the crease after opener Usman Khawaja was dismissed after scoring 19 off 13 balls. Bailey made a sluggish eight off 18 deliveries, but it was enough to ensure a victory for RPSG, who won the game by 19 runs in the rain-affected match.
Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa's 3/21 had earlier helped Pune to restrict DD to 121 runs in 20 overs. Ajinkya Rahane played briskly at the top of the Pune innings, making an unbeaten 42 off 36 balls, steering RPSG to a win on the Duckworth-Lewis method.
With this victory, RPSG have dented DD's chances of making it to the play-offs. Zaheer Khan's men now have to win their next two matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore by a considerable run-margin to stay alive in the in the competition.