when I was younger and (more) stupid I got hit in the head without a helmet on. Was so lucky to just have a broken cheekbone, and seeing this just makes me feel even luckier.
It pretty much ruined my cricketing career. Whenever I came back to bat I had this nervous twitch where I would back away a little, causing me to constantly get bowled or move away just enough to get the edge. I stuck at it for a couple years before it frustrated me enough to give up. I had gone from opening with an average of 40+ to being lower order with an average of about 5.
After the incident the college introduced the rule that every player had to wear a helmet. Sensible really.
A couple of years later I was at work with a guy, and we'd worked together for a year. For some reason that day something clicked and I asked him
did you ever play for x college - "yes",
did you open the bowling? - "Yes".
Did you ever bowl a bouncer and hit someone in the head - "...yes...",
that was me! - "holy sh*t!"
We became good mates (we kind of were already, it's amazing it took a year for us to discover this)
Every time I see the bloke who ruptured ligaments in my left foot by jumping on it in a game of indoor football, I get the red mist and want to smack the crap out of him. Bouncers are part of cricket so it's quite different, akin to tackling in rugby if it is within the rules.