The thoughts of the Australian community are with Hughes, struck by the ball while batting for South Australia against New South Wales in a state-level game on Tuesday.

Hughes has played many times as a batsman for Australia and is seen as a promising top-order player.

The incident in which he was hit in the head is not uncommon in cricket. The impact, however, is extremely serious in regard to Hughes’ health. Yesterday, he was in a critical condition after having surgery.

Already, there is a discussion about what can be done to stop such incidents occurring in the future. The reality is there will always be a certain amount of risk associated with cricketers facing balls of up to 150km/h while batting.

In recent years, authorities have put limits on “bouncers” and introduced new technology to make the game safer.

Yesterday, Ballarat Cricket Association said it was considering making the wearing of helmets compulsory.

Many junior competitions already have such a requirement. It would seem inevitable that such a provision is also added to senior games.

Pressure will undoubtedly be put on state and national associations to rule over the implementation of such standards, which is not currently the case.

The standard of helmets will also be discussed, with the likelihood that new standards be introduced to ensure risk of a serious head injury can be alleviated to a greater degree with a focus on better equipment.

There have been significant advancements in safety equipment for cricket in recent decades and we urge those responsible for managing competitions to continue to press for more improvements.

Beyond this debate, we join the Australian cricket community and people from around the world in support of the Hughes family at this time.