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Short cracks coach's jaw at practice

The hard-hitting Hurricanes involved in friendly fire with BBL mentor

Big Bash bowlers fear him like no other and D'Arcy Short's own coach Gary Kirsten might well too, after the South African was left nursing a gruesome facial injury having copped the full force of some Short friendly fire.

Kirsten, in his first year at the helm of the Hobart Hurricanes, was struck by a searing drive from Short as he was giving the star opener throwdowns on Saturday at Blundstone Arena's indoor nets.

The former Proteas Test batsman suffered a cracked jaw and required dental work to fix up multiple chipped teeth. He did not require surgery and although he was sporting some heavy swelling around his mouth on Monday evening during the Hurricanes’ clash with Brisbane Heat, Kirsten was able to complete his coaching duties as normal.

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The incident has however forced a rethink of protective requirements for Hurricanes coaches giving players throwdowns, according to captain George Bailey.

"It was wet, so we were in the indoor centre," Bailey told cricket.com.au. 

"Darce just whacked one back at him that he didn't pick up in time.

"He is hitting the ball pretty cleanly and hard at the moment. It was a bit messy. 

"(Kirsten) has actually come out of it very luckily in the big scheme of things.

"He said that he's probably been a blasé about that over the years. It's obviously prompted (a change) – everyone has had (helmets) on since."

Coaches have become increasingly proactive in protecting themselves while performing the often-hazardous task of throwing balls to batsmen looking to fine-tune their power hitting.

In the BBL many don helmets, wear baseball gloves and station extra protective nets between them and the batter, while some wear chest padding typically worn by catchers in baseball. 

Australia coach Darren Lehmann has even sported a full hockey mask while giving throwdowns at practice.

Image Id: 8A45F57327A34B0C9ED0BCD292D99D5F Image Caption: Darren 'Jason' Lehmann taking no risks in the nets // Getty

In games, some umpires have taken to wearing helmets while Australian official Bruce Oxenford has used a custom-made bulletproof shield dubbed the 'Ox-blocker'.

Bowlers too are considering their safety. In New Zealand domestic cricket last month, Otago fast bowler Warren Barnes trialled a protective facemask. In July last year, Nottinghamshire fast bowler Luke Fletcher suffered a season-ending head injury after being struck in his follow through in an English domestic T20 game.

Short meanwhile appeared unaffected by the incident with Kirsten in the nets two days prior as he continued his sizzling form to surpass Shaun Marsh's record for the most runs in a single BBL season.

Image Id: E1A6850F0FBD40039332D3C946718F7A Image Caption: The 'Ox-blocker' // Getty

The left-hander guided the Hurricanes to a six-wicket victory – their fifth win on the trot – with his fourth total above fifty for the tournament, taking his BBL|07 run tally to 465 from just seven innings to eclipse Marsh's BBL|02 mark of 412 runs.

Bailey believes it's only a matter of time before Short, who incredibly only made his T20 debut at the beginning of last summer's BBL, is in Australian colours.

"The really pleasing thing - his ball striking has always been phenomenal, it was last year as well - but now you can really see the structure he's putting into his innings," Bailey said.

"If a bowler bowls a good over, he's happy to take his medicine, if it's not an end that suits or the time that suits, he's happy just to play really good shots. 

"He's just hitting the ball where it needs to go, that's the most pleasing thing from our end. 

"It's phenomenal to see. No doubt he's going to be wearing some Australian colours soon in at least one format, but most probably two I reckon.

"I'm sure they'll be looking hard at him. He's a no brainer for the T20s (against England and NZ in February), isn't he?"