But now what? What is a proper reaction to such a tragedy?
No doubt some changes need to be made to the game of cricket.
Some people might disagree with that statement, and write this off as a freak accident which may never happen again.
But I don't think doing nothing is a great reaction to such a tragedy.
I am hardly a great cricketing mind but I can think of two ways we can improve the game of cricket when it comes to safety, especially around bouncers.
Option one: Improve the helmets (fairly obvious).
Option two: Review and change the rules for short-pitched deliveries.
By that I do not mean abolish bouncers.
The ICC rules are: Two bouncers may be bowled per over in a standard test match and one-day international match (Law 42.6a) and one bouncer per over in a T20 international cricket match.
Any further bouncers in an over are signalled as no balls and the umpires can remove a bowler if he continues to infringe.
In terms of possible changes, I think perhaps only one bouncer should be allowed each over in all forms of cricket (test, one-day and T20).
Also a harsher penalty should be applied for any infringements. For example, that could be an instant four-run penalty for more than one bouncer in an over.
That will obviously not eliminate the risk of another bad injury but it will reduce it.
International players have spoken this week about the need to keep bouncers in the game. Black Cap Brendon McCullum said this week: "Bouncers are part and parcel of the game - they have been for a long time and they will be for a long time yet."
So it will be interesting to see exactly what changes are brought into the game around short-pitched deliveries in the near future.
It will also be equally interesting to see how the Australian national cricket team go about their bowling tactics in their next fixture.
