I could have been Phil Hughes, says Mark Vermeulen
Zimbabwean cricketer Mark Vermeulen was struck on the head on three different occasions during his career, and twice sustained a fracture skull.
“Phillip Hughes could have been me 10 years ago,” admitted Vermeulen, in an interview with BBC.
The 35-year-old, who made a return to Test cricket earlier this year, opted to retire after only one match, ending a career that could have cost him his life.
He was first hit on the head while playing for Zimbabwe Under-19s and then suffered his first fractured skull while batting in the nets at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Again on January 2004, Vermeulen was struck again on the head while facing India’s Irfan Pathan, in an One-Day International (ODI) in Brisbane.
“I thought I was fine. I thought I would take off my helmet and carry on batting,” he recalled.
“It was only when I started walking off the field, then half-an-hour later, that I felt the pain. When I was in the ambulance I thought that surely this has got to be it – I can’t keep going through this.
“The doctor who did the operation on me said I shouldn’t really play cricket again because if I got hit, it could be fatal.
“After a time, because I loved cricket so much, I thought I’d keep giving it a go and see what happened.”
Vermeulen was back playing international cricket two months later, but his performances suffered because of the fear of being hit again. The blows did impact his batting form, and more to his psychological state, for which, he found himself in a lot of trouble.
He was depressed, lost his sanity for a while, then came the infamous arson attack on the national cricket academy, followed by his time in jail, attempted suicide and a brush with Robert Mugabe’s henchmen.
After a lot of turmoil, Vermeulen made a comeback to the Test team earlier this year against South Africa, but not being able to cope up with the conditions and touring stress, he retired.
Vermeulen has now moved to South Africa and may move into coaching, or even try a hand in professional golf. It has hardly been two months, since he retired, when Hughes death reminded him of his horrors.
“When I first heard that he’d been hit, I thought he would be OK, maybe because of my own experiences. Hearing that he had passed away was quite a shock. It’s a reminder for me to count my lucky stars, to be grateful for each day of life that I have to enjoy,” he said.