Sydney, Jan 13, (PTI) : Australian opener Chris Rogers said he contemplated retiring after being hit at the back of his helmet by a Rohit Sharma sweep shot while fielding during the second cricket Test against India at the Gabba.
The incident happened on the opening day of the Brisbane Test when Rogers was fielding at short leg. The 37-year-old copped a ball to the back of the helmet, a spot similar to where the late Phil Hughes was struck during a Sheffield Shield game in November.
The freakish incident upset Rogers so much that for a moment he found himself at the cricketing crossroads.
“It was an interesting time after what happened with Phil. There are a lot of guys who are finding it pretty hard. Mortality hadn’t really been an issue in the game,” Rogers was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I fielded at short leg on the last day in the Test when Michael Clarke got injured in Adelaide, and I took one on the hip there, and I didn’t do very well (with the bat), so I wasn’t happy with my own form.
“Then we went up to Brisbane and day one I was under there and Rohit Sharma swept one and he hit me in the back of the helmet, and it’s only inches away from where Phil got hit.
“So you just have different thoughts go through your head. That night I was pretty upset so I just wasn’t sure which way to go. I had to speak to a few people close to me,” said Rogers, who eventually scored 417 runs at an average of 52.12 in the four-Test series.
Rogers eventually ended up hitting six consecutive half-centuries, becoming just the ninth Australian to do so and he said it turned out to be a good series in the end.
“As an opener, you do the hard work against the new ball and then once you get in, you think it should get easier and you can go and get a big score,” Rogers said.
“But I think the most important thing was to contribute. I missed out in the UAE (against Pakistan).
“It was a good (series) in the end. Personally, I was under a little bit of pressure and then missed out in Adelaide but bounced back quite well.”
Rogers believes this winter’s Ashes series in England will serve as his international swansong.
“You never say ‘never’, but it might be a nice way to round my career out. I’ve played a lot over in England, it would mean a lot to me,” Rogers said.
“But also, I think, looking forward for the Australian side, there’s got to be a time when they start to rebuild the side, and maybe with the Tests that are on next summer there might be a little bit less pressure and it might be the ideal time for a younger guy to come in and get some experience.
“I can see the writing on the wall with that as well, but also I think time is nearly up for me. I’m getting on and maybe there’s other things to do in life.”
Meanwhile, England pacer James Anderson said Phillip Hughes death caused ‘huge doubts’ in his mind about bowling.
“In the week after, I was having huge doubts about how I’d go about bowling and whether I’d want to bowl the short ball,” Anderson told BBC Radio 5 live.
The 32-year-old seam bowler, who is in England’s World Cup squad, believes the game must continue as usual.
“I don’t see it changing the way bowlers go about their business. It was a freak accident and a huge tragedy, and the game has got to carry on. I’ve heard a lot of Aussies say that’s what Phillip would have wanted,” Anderson said.
