10 cricketers who braved debilitating injuries and played courageously

The beauty of sport, any sport, is that it can show Human nature at its very finest, or its very worst.

The beauty of sport, any sport, is that it can show Human nature at its very finest, or its very worst. Here are some instances of the former. Shiamak Unwalla looks at 10 instances when cricketers showed tremendous courage by braving horrific injuries to resume playing a match for their team. 

1.  Bert Sutcliffe: South Africa vs New Zealand at Johannesburg, 1953-54

It was one of the most emotional cricket matches of all time. Never before or since has a scorecard revealed less. South Africa won the match by 132 runs, but that fateful Test at Johannesburg has since become synonymous with courage shown on a cricket field.

South Africa scored 271 before the tearaway Neil Adcock and David Ironside bowled hostile spells on a minefield of a pitch. On the second day, news came of a tragic train accident back in New Zealand, which claimed the life of young Kiwi cricketer Bob Blair’s fiancée. Meanwhile, Adcock and Ironside continued to make the ball talk, hitting the batsmen as often as not. One of those sharp bouncers hit the newly-arrived Bert Sutcliffe on the side of his head. Sutcliffe was down for the count and had to be rushed to the hospital. Read the complete article on Cric Life here.