Cricketers' love for autobiographies seems to be a never-ending story as the past few weeks have been very interesting with some startling revelations from some of the greatest cricketers. The latest revelations come from the former Australian cricketer Chris Rogers' book, Bucking the Trend. One of the incidents highlighted is his admission of fear of death after being hit on the head during a Test match against Indian cricket team in 2014.
The left-hander gave details about the incident, which he recalls as his worst nightmare till date. The 31-year-old stated that the horrific incident happened just weeks after his teammate, Phil Hughes' death. India were playing the Australians in the first Test after the death of Hughes in Adelaide. The match was an emotional one for the entire world as it was the first match that was played by the Australians after the death of Hughes.
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Rogers mentioned that he was asked to field at the short-leg position by vice-captain, Brad Haddin as he was temporarily managing the captaincy role after Michael Clarke, the captain, was off the field due to a hamstring injury. He wrote, "With the naming of Steve Smith as captain in Michael's absence for the next Test in Brisbane, the writing was on the wall. I was to be short leg when one was needed.
"The inevitable happened at the Gabba and once again the batsman was Rohit Sharma. He got every bit of a sweep and hit it uppishly. I was predicting what was coming and once again swiveled trying to present a smaller target. However my technique in doing this was terrible, and all I managed to do was present my back. The ball struck me flush on the back of the helmet, inches from where Phillip had been hit," Rogers stated in his book.
Rogers went on to state that he couldn't think of anything for a minute or so until the team doctor Peter Bruckner came rushing in. He stated that he was furious and scared, but all he could think of was to get back in there and try to prove his teammates that he wasn't a coward.Rogers, however, made a shocking statement that he had no clue about what he had said then. He wrote, "I have no recollection of this, but Peter later said that I said to him ‘Doc, I don't want to die.’"
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Rogers went on to write that after the match team psychologist Michael Loyd was the first one to approach him and the left-hander broke down instantly after talking to him. He wrote, "After talking to Michael, who was very supportive, the next contact was with Dad. I told him everything I was thinking and that it might be time to call it quits. As stated before, the lows are terrible, and what became consuming was a desire to get out of the bubble and live a more balanced life."
Rogers subsequently retired from all forms of cricket in 2016 after realizing that he couldn't meet the demands of the game.
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