"Get ready for a broken ^%& arm" there was a reason that comment disgusted everyone and went viral. True, there were probably plenty that weren't disgusted but thats beside the point!

Every express bowler has talked up their intimidation - from the windies of the 80s to Mitch Johnson and Jeff thompson. We could list many more. But lets call a spade a spade, its not just the a few short balls against a 6-3 offside field and some inappropriate bloodthristy comments like many pace bowlers dish out. Not only does Wagner bowl about 40% of his deliveries at the body, within some spells that number spikes for a sustained period of time against a 6-3 legside field. The field setting make it much more likely that the player allows themselves to get hit rather than risk a shot

At the moment its just Wagner, but what happens if this anti-cricket tactic spreads? Or worse, if it spreads to lower grades where techniques are worse and injury will be more likely. People have brought up his pedestrian pace, but 135-140kph is what 10% less speed than the quickest in the world. Glen mcgrath broke Kevin Peitersons ribs at that speed and Abbott is hardly express and killed a player. There really isn't much difference in terms of force. The much more likely risk is the concussions. A couple of concussions over a career and you probably laugh about it over a beer at the end of your career over how scary some bowler was. Concussions have a cumulative effect over a career, and if the number you sustain climbs, there will be serious long term health damage. Once you have enough concussions you end your career regretting you ever played. The current tactics employed by bowlers world wide delegates concussions to be rare and deaths to be confined to the freak accident category - about as common as a car crash on the way to cricket training.

An employee that risks their long term health to perform better at their job is heroic and a dream employee. Every player for every country fits that mould of heroic dream employee and we rightly respect the guts and determination of players that are willing to get hit rather than lose their wicket. However, an employer that takes advantage of that without making reasonable accommodations to make the job as safe as possible is exploitative. Cricket Australia are not their only employers, we paying fans are in a way also their employers and we are exploitative if we don't call it out. Any former union members on the forum?

Besides, who else can call this out? As I mentioned cricket has a machismo culture so all the pressure is to pretend that the tactic is fine lest you come across as scared or a whinger. Australia has the additional problem of being recently caught at cheating and would be wary of being accused of hypocrisy if they called this out. Of course cheating to win is not the same as cheating to hurt. It is, after all, just a game but the people out there will have 40-50 years left of their lives to live with any health problems they acquire from the game. It needs to be called out for the anti-cricket it is before we start seeing this nonsense at the under 17 level