You'd like to think a helmet would protect against that sort of thing...piss poor really on the designers' behalf TBF...
Yes it's sad and I hope he pulls through but unfortunately accidents do/can happen, and that's exactly what it is. Thankfully, they happen very rarely... my heart also goes out to the bowler - poor bastard will be feeling terrible.
Seen it happen with a similar blow to a much slower bowler in a few games I've played in and been hit a few times. While helmets can stop some injuries completely, sometimes they are just there to lessen the severity of unavoidable injury.
Where it has hit him appears to be the 'sweet spot' where the grill ends and there is no helmet as below. In the 20 years I've been playing cricket, I have always worn a helmet but always know that I'm likely to get injured by the ball at some point - it's the risk of trying to hit a rock solid piece of leather and cork with a plank of wood. Sometimes you win, sometimes the bowler wins.
If the helmet had an extended grill or lower protection to the helmet itself, it would hinder movement and possibly even promote neck injuries as your head can move around a LOT when playing hook, pull or sweep shots (shots where the helmets most comes into play). What you also need to remember is that Huges took that shot on, tried to pull it and missed. He had the option to duck or sway but chose to have big nuts and take it on (which is to be commended). It was the perfect storm of a well directed bouncer, aggressive shot and head position at a particular moment in time. The bowler will feel awful despite playing within the rules and Phil Hughes, who will hopefully pull through this awful event, will likely be the first to admit it's part of the game and he could just have easily baffed the guy for 6. Good luck to him!
