Phillip Hughes inquest to consider health and safety in cricket

Australian cricket is bracing for a grim week as the New South Wales Coroners Court holds a public inquest into the circumstances surrounding the blow that killed Phillip Hughes in a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG in November 2014.

Players on the field at the time of the incident, including the likes of Brad Haddin and bowler Sean Abbott, are expected to be among witnesses called to speak. The Hughes family is also expected to be present at the inquest.

Hughes' death has already been the subject of a Cricket Australia-commissioned review, which found that no amount of increased head protection could have changed the course of events. However that review steered clear of issues surrounding the bowling of bouncers and the laws of the game, lines of enquiry expected to be pursued this week.

"The State Coroner will examine the manner and cause of death," a spokesperson for NSW Coroners Court said. "He also has jurisdiction under section 82 of the Coroners Act 2009 (NSW) to make recommendations, particularly in the interest of public health and safety.

"Some of the issues that will be examined include how the fatal injury occurred, the nature of play and whether it exacerbated the risk of injury and whether or not a protective helmet would have minimised the risk of Phillip Hughes dying. It will also examine emergency planning and response, as well as training.

"At this stage, the State Coroner has not decided whether findings will be handed down at the end of next week."

When the CA review, conducted by David Curtain QC, was handed down, CA chief executive James Sutherland explained how his terms of reference had been limited in order to preserve the fabric of the game.

"You'll see in the brief terms of reference we gave David Curtain that we needed to draw a line about the laws of the game and to have some perspective around that," Sutherland said. "You can make the game of cricket a lot safer by playing with a tennis ball, but that's not how Test cricket has been played and it would obviously be a very different game.

"We're not wanting to go there, but we do need to find the right balance in the circumstances to not compromise the way the game's played and not compromise the way in which the players are best equipped to show their skills."