LONDON, England (CMC) — Cricket legend Brian Lara says he hopes the critical head injury and death of Australia’s Phillip Hughes’ does not affect the future of fast bowling since such incidents are rare.

Lara’s comments were made before news surfaced that Hughes had died as a result of the injuries he sustained when struck by a bouncer on Tuesday.

Hughes was in a critical condition in a Sydney hospital then died after being hit on the head by a short ball from Sean Abbott during South Australia’s Sheffield Shield clash with New South Wales.

“It’s very unfortunate, batsmen face all sorts of dangers,” Lara said in an interview with the Sky Sports Network.

“I think it’s a sport and you are always going to have that element of risk. This is an unfortunate and rare situation. I felt safe playing, but there was that element of risk. I used to say a little prayer in the morning and just hope for the best.”

Lara’s West Indies teammate, Phil Simmons, went through a similar experience to Hughes when playing against Gloucestershire in 1988.

Simmons was not even wearing a helmet when struck on the head by a David Lawrence bouncer.

Lara himself recalls being hit on the head a couple of times during his career, by Glenn McGrath and Shoaib Akhtar.

However, he says facing short bowling is part of the game and something he does not want to see disappear from the sport.

“I think they’ve done their best over the years to curb it and manage it as best as possible,” said Lara.

“But it’s part of a fast bowler’s armoury and it’s very hard to take that totally away from them. There are some batsmen who feed on that sort of attack and I don’t really believe it’s anything that should affect fast bowlers and the rules governing that.”