Rogers pondered retirement after helmet hit

Opener Chris Rogers has said he considered retiring from cricket after being struck in the helmet during the second Test against India at the Gabba.

Rogers was fielding at short leg when he turned to avoid a sweep from Rohit Sharma and was hit on the back of the helmet, appearing shaken and avoiding the team doctor Peter Brukner, who came on the field to assess him.

Coming so soon after the death of Phillip Hughes, who was hit on the neck below where the protection of his helmet ended, Rogers naturally had thoughts of what could have happened. He said

"It was an interesting time after what happened with Phil," Rogers told SEN. "There are a lot of guys who are finding it pretty hard. Mortality hadn't really been an issue in the game. I fielded at short leg on the last day in the Test when Michael Clarke got injured in Adelaide, and I took one on the hip there, and I didn't do very well [with the bat], so I wasn't happy with my own form.

"Then we went up to Brisbane and day one I was under there and Rohit Sharma swept one and he hit me in the back of the helmet, and it's only inches away from where Phil got hit. So you just have different thoughts go through your head. That night I was pretty upset so I just wasn't sure which way to go. I had to speak to a few people close to me."

However, Rogers returned to batting form with a pair of half-centuries at the Gabba, the start of a run of six straight fifties to close out the series against India. On Wednesday he will captain the Prime Minister's XI against England in Canberra, and it is likely that the same opposition will provide his Test swansong on this year's Ashes tour.

"You never say never, but it might be a nice way to round my career out," Rogers said of the Ashes campaign. "I've played a lot over in England, it would mean a lot to me. But also, I think, looking forward for the Australian side, there's got to be a time when they start to rebuild the side, and maybe with the Tests that are on next summer there might be a little bit less pressure and it might be the ideal time for a younger guy to come in and get some experience.

"I can see the writing on the wall with that as well, but also I think time is nearly up for me. I'm getting on and maybe there's other things to do in life."