Australian pacer Pat Cummins says the death of Phil Hughes following a freak head injury last month, is still playing on the minds of the country's fast bowlers as they look to bowl the short-pitched stuff.
A former team-mate of Hughes, who died aged 25 after being hit on the head by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield game between South Australia and New South Wales, Cummins was not part of the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"I think it definitely does make you think twice. The first couple of weeks initially, certainly I couldn't even fathom bowling a bouncer. Now, once you get into a competitive situation, you kind of try and put that out of your mind," he was today quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
The 21-year-old paceman added, "I think most of the guys are trying to not think about it and trying to take it for the freak accident that it was and go back to cricket. But I think certainly it is in the back of most people's minds."
Hughes' tragic death came back to haunt Australia after star all-rounder Shane Watson was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from pacer James Pattinson during their training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here today.
The 33-year-old Watson was left shaken by the blow on his head and he left the MCG nets following the incident that put an early end to Australia's training session before the Boxing Day Test.
Cummins said, "I don't think anyone knows how they would react until they get put in that situation. But it is still quite raw I guess."
Cummins is currently out of the Test squad but is in reckoning to be selected for Australia's 2015 World Cup team.
