Concussion Substitute Rule used by Cricket Australia

Concussion Substitute Use in Matador Cup:

Cricket Australia has done some amendment to cricket rules since death of Philip Hughes in 2014 and concussion substitutes is one of the recommendation that is added. However, ICC refused to use concussion substitutes in international cricket and rejected the idea of using it in first class cricket (Sheffield Shield - Australian domestic cricket championship). According to new concussion substitutes rules, it will be up to medical expert to decide if player can resume his batting or has to sit out of the game. Its natural that a batter would want to carry on batting even if batsman is not 100% well to face the ball. Once concussed player is ruled out of the game then cricket team management can make a "like-for-like" replacement. Substitute can bat, ball and field like if player was selected in team XI squad. No restrictions will apply on substitute player.

CA Used Concussion Substitutes:

Substitutes system was first used in Australia during an elimination final game between New South Wales and Victoria in Matador one day cup played in Sydney. Daniel Hughes (playing for NSW) was struck by a bouncer from Peter Siddle (bowling for Victoria). Bowler and fielders were shaken by this blow. Hughes was batting on 23 from 31 balls when he got hit on helmet by a bouncer, he was back on his feet quickly and sustained a laceration below his eye. Dr John Orchard rushed to the field and took Daniel Hughes off the field. After some concussion tests, Daniel Hughes was declared unfit for rest of the match and was replaced by Nick Larkin. New South Wales won the game against Victoria and advanced in the one-day series. New South Wales became the first team in Australia to use concussion substitute rule in domestic cricket.

Usman Khawaja and Ed Cowan Views:

Australia middle order batsman Khawaja believes that ICC should use concussion substitute rule in international matches as it addresses safety of players.  "It's a sensible rule, so yeah I would like to see it introduced [internationally]," Khawaja, who will captain Queensland in Sunday's final against New South Wales, said. "But obviously there's a lot of factors that go into it and I'm sure they'll make those decisions. "It's good that it's taken out of the players' hands because the players don't want to leave and sometimes it can be dangerous. As players we'll never [want to] get off ... especially when you're batting." - sourced from espncricinfo. Apart from Khawaja, Ed Cowan was happy with this amendment of allowing substitute if player goes through concussion episode during a game. 

Cowan said,  "I certainly think any playing condition that helps to improve the safety of players, and takes concussion out of the players' hands and into the medical experts' hands, I think is a good thing," Cowan said. "The game, unfortunately, has changed in the last few years. "We play a sport where the danger of the sport is now in the forefront of everybody's mind. As long as the game is looking to progress in its playing conditions to ensure the safety of its players, then everyone is happy." 

Reference: espncricinfo

Concussions substitute rule is one of the positive change added to cricket rules by Cricket Australia. Main objective of this rule is safety of a player. It will be no longer be in hands of player to decide if they want to carry on playing. Medical adviser job would be to do some concussion test and if player is deemed fit then they can resume the game otherwise a substitute will be sent to play as if he/she was selected in squad. 

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