Click here to read former England coach David Lloyd's column following the heartbreaking news of Phillip Hughes' death . You never expect something like this to happen in your game. Yes, we have seen serious injury in cricket and yes people have died playing the game, but I just did not believe it could happen to a professional in the modern, helmeted era. This is an absolute tragedy for the family of Phillip Hughes, his friends and the whole cricket community. It will stay forever with those team-mates and opponents who were on the field with him at the SCG on Tuesday. I have seen people hit on the head in a cricket match and thought, ‘Crikey that’s bad.’ But if a batsman is knocked down you always expect them to get back up again. You don’t expect them to stay down, like poor Hughes did. VIDEO Scroll down to watch A tribute to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes . Australian batsman Phillip Hughes tragically passed away aged 25 after being struck  by a bouncer . Hughes (left) chats with Simon Katich (right) before play at the third Ashes Test  at the Edgbaston in 2009 . I never feared facing a cricket ball and maybe as a pro you have to be like that if you are going to succeed. But I know that if I was playing now I would be feeling very different about what could happen the next time I went out to bat. You are taught as a batsman to keep your eye on the ball but if you cannot hit it then your instinct when batting or fielding at short leg is to turn your head away, as Hughes did at the SCG when he went through with the shot too early. You do it as an act of self-preservation if you cannot hit the ball or get out of the way of it but it can expose the back of your head and neck where Phillip was hit. I was always told that your temple was the area in most need of protection, not the back of the head. This will make everybody who plays the game at any level think again, not to mention the manufacturers who try to make helmets as effective as they can be. Sportsmail's Nasser Hussain (left) commentates during the toss before the 2013 third Ashes Test at Old Trafford as England captain Alastair Cook (middle) invites Australian counterpart Michael Clarke to call . If anything, short leg fielders are even more vulnerable than batsmen because you are in the lap of the Gods fielding there. I would urge all cricketers, young and old, to think about their safety as much as they possibly can. As I said here the other day, it is in the nets or watching others bat where you can be most at risk. Keep your eye on the ball at all times. I didn’t know Phillip well but those who did say he was a terrific lad who was very popular among his team-mates and throughout the game, not only in Australia but in England and wherever else he played. He was a little fighter on the field, as we saw with the way he overcame technical issues to be on the brink of a Test comeback with Australia, but this was one fight he just could not win. It really was a freak accident. The Adelaide Oval, Hughes' home ground, pays poignant tribute after the news broke on Thursday . Cricket Australia have a tricky decision to make as to whether next week’s first Test against India should go ahead at the Gabba. How can people like Brad Haddin, David Warner and Nathan Lyon, who were there at the SCG with Hughes, holding their dying friend in their arms, possibly think about playing now? I think it should come down to each individual’s decision. The Test could be held as a tribute to Hughes but if any of the players do not feel in the right frame of mind to play again so soon then that will obviously be respected by everyone. Should the game change? Well, protective equipment will inevitably be looked at but there is only so far you can go with helmets. If they are so heavy and comprehensive that they can effect movement or vision then they could do more harm than good. It is a balancing act. Maybe the game needs to look at intimidatory bowling at tail-enders too. We used to giggle when we saw someone like Phil Tufnell backing away from fast bowlers but this tragedy puts that very much into context. What I would say is that fast bowling is one of the great attractions of cricket. Watching Mitchell Johnson last winter was absolutely exhilarating, the best part of the Ashes. It is a great skill and not one that can be taken away from cricket. Cricket will take stock, do everything it can do, but ultimately it will carry on. It has to. For now all we can do is offer every sympathy to Phillip’s family and friends who are going through something no cricketer’s loved ones ever should. Hughes (left) congratulates Ashton Agar (right) after the Australian No 11 reaches 50 against England in 2013 . VIDEO Hughes dies from head injuries .
Former England captain Nasser Hussian says the Phillip Hughes tragedy will make every cricketer think again .
'I would urge all cricketers, young and old, to think about their safety as much as they possibly can'
Hussain: 'The game needs to look at intimidatory bowling at tail-enders too... this puts that very much into context'
'All we can do is offer every sympathy to Phillip’s family and friends'
Click here to read former England coach David Lloyd's column following the heartbreaking news of Phillip Hughes' death . You never expect something like this to happen in your game. Yes, we have seen serious injury in cricket and yes people have died playing the game, but I just did not believe it could happen to a professional in the modern, helmeted era. This is an absolute tragedy for the family of Phillip Hughes, his friends and the whole cricket community. It will stay forever with those team-mates and opponents who were on the field with him at the SCG on Tuesday. I have seen people hit on the head in a cricket match and thought, ‘Crikey that’s bad.’ But if a batsman is knocked down you always expect them to get back up again. You don’t expect them to stay down, like poor Hughes did. VIDEO Scroll down to watch A tribute to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes . Australian batsman Phillip Hughes tragically passed away aged 25 after being struck  by a bouncer . Hughes (left) chats with Simon Katich (right) before play at the third Ashes Test  at the Edgbaston in 2009 . I never feared facing a cricket ball and maybe as a pro you have to be like that if you are going to succeed. But I know that if I was playing now I would be feeling very different about what could happen the next time I went out to bat. You are taught as a batsman to keep your eye on the ball but if you cannot hit it then your instinct when batting or fielding at short leg is to turn your head away, as Hughes did at the SCG when he went through with the shot too early. You do it as an act of self-preservation if you cannot hit the ball or get out of the way of it but it can expose the back of your head and neck where Phillip was hit. I was always told that your temple was the area in most need of protection, not the back of the head. This will make everybody who plays the game at any level think again, not to mention the manufacturers who try to make helmets as effective as they can be. Sportsmail's Nasser Hussain (left) commentates during the toss before the 2013 third Ashes Test at Old Trafford as England captain Alastair Cook (middle) invites Australian counterpart Michael Clarke to call . If anything, short leg fielders are even more vulnerable than batsmen because you are in the lap of the Gods fielding there. I would urge all cricketers, young and old, to think about their safety as much as they possibly can. As I said here the other day, it is in the nets or watching others bat where you can be most at risk. Keep your eye on the ball at all times. I didn’t know Phillip well but those who did say he was a terrific lad who was very popular among his team-mates and throughout the game, not only in Australia but in England and wherever else he played. He was a little fighter on the field, as we saw with the way he overcame technical issues to be on the brink of a Test comeback with Australia, but this was one fight he just could not win. It really was a freak accident. The Adelaide Oval, Hughes' home ground, pays poignant tribute after the news broke on Thursday . Cricket Australia have a tricky decision to make as to whether next week’s first Test against India should go ahead at the Gabba. How can people like Brad Haddin, David Warner and Nathan Lyon, who were there at the SCG with Hughes, holding their dying friend in their arms, possibly think about playing now? I think it should come down to each individual’s decision. The Test could be held as a tribute to Hughes but if any of the players do not feel in the right frame of mind to play again so soon then that will obviously be respected by everyone. Should the game change? Well, protective equipment will inevitably be looked at but there is only so far you can go with helmets. If they are so heavy and comprehensive that they can effect movement or vision then they could do more harm than good. It is a balancing act. Maybe the game needs to look at intimidatory bowling at tail-enders too. We used to giggle when we saw someone like Phil Tufnell backing away from fast bowlers but this tragedy puts that very much into context. What I would say is that fast bowling is one of the great attractions of cricket. Watching Mitchell Johnson last winter was absolutely exhilarating, the best part of the Ashes. It is a great skill and not one that can be taken away from cricket. Cricket will take stock, do everything it can do, but ultimately it will carry on. It has to. For now all we can do is offer every sympathy to Phillip’s family and friends who are going through something no cricketer’s loved ones ever should. Hughes (left) congratulates Ashton Agar (right) after the Australian No 11 reaches 50 against England in 2013 . VIDEO Hughes dies from head injuries .
Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes . Australian would urge all cricketers, young and old, to think about their safety as much as they possibly is a balancing act. Maybe the game needs to look at intimidatory bowling at tail-enders too. We tragedy puts that very much into context. What I now all we can do is offer every sympathy to Phillip’s family and friends who are going