Phillip Hughes: Ben Cutting says bouncers will be back in time despite tragic death

AUSTRALIAN quick Ben Cutting hopes fast bowlers don’t lose the instinct to intimidate following the tragic death of his little mate Phillip Hughes.

Cutting is like every shell-shocked and shattered fast bowler — struggling to deal with how he is ever going to bowl a bouncer again.

But the Queenslander who played alongside Hughes in an Australian ODI in Zimbabwe in August believes the fabric of the game must not change.

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He is sure Hughes would have not have wanted fast bowlers to stop bowling with short-pitched aggression.

“Bowlers regularly have their tails up and bowl plenty of bouncers. They even tell batsmen they are going to hurt them — that certainly takes on a whole different meaning now,’’ Cutting told The Courier-Mail yesterday on Sunday.

“At the moment I don’t really want to think about bowling short.

“But the instinct for fast bowlers to intimidate is a big part of the game. I hope it doesn’t change and I can’t see that it will.

Ben Cutting says instinct for fast bowlers to intimidate is a big part of the game.Source: News Corp Australia

“It might take a while, but in the long run I hope things can get back to some kind of normality for fast bowlers.’’

While all Australian players are dealing with grief in different ways, Cutting feels he cleared a major hurdle by returning to the cricket field in Brisbane on the weekend.

Cutting played for his club side Souths but did not get the chance to bowl as his team batted all day.

He says there were very few short balls delivered and former Test paceman Peter George even took the step of warning a batsman that he was about to bowl a bouncer.

“The game I played in was very subdued, it felt like a training session or centre wicket practice,’’ Cutting said.

“There were hardly any short balls delivered and very little encouragement from the fielders.

“Neither team really wanted to be there in the first place. But from a personal perspective it was a bit of a hurdle I cleared.

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“I am glad I had a game rather than sitting around mulling over things.’’

Cutting hasn’t played Test cricket but was 12th man for the 2011 Gabba Test against New Zealand in which Hughes played.

He had become firm friends with Hughes when the two spent long winters together training at the Cricket Academy in Brisbane and also playing in Australia A matches.

“I had a lot to do with Hughesy right from the moment he came on the scene,’’ Cutting said.

“Everyone had hit the nail on the head — he was an amazing human being.

“We will all miss him so much.’’