The Phil Hughes Coronial Inquest: Cricketers Wallow in Contradictory Evidence

Item extracted from The Australian, 13 October 2016

Doug Bollinger allegedly told Matthew Day: “One of my sledges was ‘I am going to kill you. I can’t believe I said that.”

Matthew  Day  told Jason Hughes: “Doug Bollinger told me he sledged them by saying he was going to kill them.”

Jason Hughes told Matthew Day: “Tom Cooper told me the same thing.” 

Tom Cooper:to the Inquest when asked about Bollinger’s comments: “I’m confident it didn’t happen.” 

Doug Bollinger told the inquest: “I know in my heart  didn’t say that.”

David Warner at the inquest: “He wasn’t sledged at all,.”

Sean Abbott at the inquest: “I can’t recall any sledging on the day.” 

Trent Johnston, ex-NSW bowling coach told Matthew Day: “I am struggling with the fact that I was a big part of of the plan that NSW adopted, that was to bowl short to Phil and that eventually ended with him being struck.”

    ***   ***

A THOUGHT: All the NSW cricketers seem to have suffered a collective loss of memory!

A NOTE: their evidence n’less defended “sledging” (an euphemism that covers the range from banter to verbal assault directed at batsmen) as quite a legitimate tactic.

NOTE TWO:  such lines of legitimization glide over the fact that (a) verbal assault as tactic destroys the basic cricketing principle of “a level playing field” because (b) verbal skills in intimidation in the English language are NOT equally distributed among cricketing nations and (c) not every cricketer is nourished in aggressive macho-capacities.

WOW: As dispiriting and despicable is the indications that the evidence given by several umpires and the watching brief pursued by Cricket Australia give one ground to conjecture that there was –and continues to be during the ongoing inquest– an effort to hide the principles of aggression guiding cricketing strategy — a strategy that took especially vicious aim at Phil Hughes because he (a) was turncoat New South Welshman (b) a batsman as obdurate as skilled and (c) already had a half-century under his belt that day.

 

 the Hughes family-Pic by Ross Schultz

THE CORONIAL INQUEST plus… still in progress

*   Peter Lalor 2016 “Doug Bollinger on Back foot in Phil Hughes Inquest,” 13 October 2016, https://cricketique.wordpress.com/2016/10/13/doug-bollinger-on-back-foot-in-phil-hughes-inquest/

•  Andrew Webster 2016 “The sad divide between the family of Phillip Hughes and the cricketing community,” 14 October 2016, ……………………………….………………………….………. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/the-sad-divide-between-the-family-of-phillip-hughes-and-the-cricketing-community-20161012-gs14xt.html

* ABC News 2016 “Coroner’s Inquiry into the Death of Phil Hughes: Serious Questions, Tears & Standard Fare,” 11 October 2016, https://cricketique.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/coroners-inquiry-into-the-death-of-phil-hughes-serious-questions-tears-standard-fare/ [From] …. ……. …… ………     ………………….. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-10/inquest-into-cricketer-phillip-hughes’-death-begins/791697 

 

* THE AUSTRALIAN 2016 “Hughes had ‘unsafe workplace’,”14 October 2016,  http://www.theaustralian.com.au

 

 *  AAPNews 2016 “Matthew Wade elbows Bowler Abbott and faces Code of Conduct Charge,” October 2016, https://cricketique.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/matthew-wade-elbows-bowler-abbott-and-faces-code-of-conduct-charge·

 

*         Daniel Brettig 2016 “Call for Clarification of bouncer Laws at Inquest into Phil Hughes’ Death,” https://cricketique.wordpress.com/2016/10/14/call-for-clarification-of-bouncer-laws-at-inquest-into-the-phil-hughes-death/

ROBERTS

• • • • * Roberts 2016 “Against Verbal Intimidation in Cricket: A Voice in A Wasteland,” 12 October 2016, https://cricketique.wordpress.com/2016/10/12/against-verbal-intimidation-in-cricket-a-voice-in-a-wasteland/* Roberts 2016 “Alex Kontouris faces “Chin Music” at the Coronial Inquest into Phil-Hughes’ Death,” 13 October 2016, https://cricketique.wordpress.com/2016/10/13/alex-kontouris-faces-chin-music-at-the-coronial-inquest-into-phil-hughes-death/ 
      • Roberts 2003 “Verbal Assault on the cricket field: ICC piss-weak, TV commentators insouciant,” 27 November 2003, https://thuppahis.com/2013/11/27/verbal-assault-on-the-cricket-field-icc-piss-weak-tv-commentators-insouciant/
      • Roberts [2002] “Letter to the ICC, 25 November 2002,” reprinted in Roberts, Essaying Cricket. Sri Lanka and Beyond, Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2006, pp. 103-06.
      • Roberts [2001] “Sin bin for verbal Intimidation,” originally printed on 28 April 2001, reprinted in Roberts, Essaying Cricket. Sri Lanka and Beyond, Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2006, pp. 98-102.
      • Roberts 2000 “Against verbal intimidation in cricket,” com, http://www.ozlanka.com/commentary/intimidation.htm
      • Roberts [1999] “The Grunt, The Spit and The Scowl in Sports,” originally 1999, reprinted in Roberts, Essaying Cricket. Sri Lanka and Beyond, Colombo, Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2006, pp. 96-97.
        • Roberts 2007 “Vilification, Zero Tolerance and Double Standards in Cricket,” cricket.dilmahtea.com, 7 November 2007.
        • Roberts [2006] “Cricket, Dirty Cricket,” reprinted in Roberts, Essaying Cricket. Sri Lanka and Beyond, Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2006, pp. 98-102.
        • Roberts 2003“Legitimising the Bullyboys on the Cricket Field,”cricket.dilmahtea.com, 16 Dec 2004.
          • Roberts 2014 “Australian Patriotism and Sacrificial Christian Symbolism embodied in One Image commemorating Phil Hughes,” 29 November 2016, http://thuppahis.com/2014/11/29/australian-patriotism-and-sacrificial-christian-symbolism-embodied-in-one-image-commemorating-phil-hughes/

  For Essaying Cricket. Sri Lanka and Beyond, Colombo, 2006 search for ISBN 955-1266-26-9