WHEN a Chris Woakes delivery struck Jeevan Mendis on the head yesterday, his first reaction was to catch the ball as it rebounded to him, turn to the umpire, throw his arms wide open and appeal.

There was, in the aftermath, understandable concern on the pitch over the well-being of the batsman but Mendis had, indeed, top edged the ball before it struck his batting helmet and, once he had undergone treatment, he was informed that his innings was over.

No criticism, explicit or implicit, at Woakes' priorities is intended. After Mendis' departure, he and Chris Jordan were subsequently praised by commentators - and rightly so - for having persistently sought to exploit Thisara Perera's discomfort when confronted with short-pitched bowling.

In truth, none of it looked terribly hostile but, as that deflection off Mendis' bat had demonstrated, there is always some element of danger when a missile as hard as a cricket ball is being hurled around and struck at such pace.

The sport has, though, moved on - as it must - following the trauma caused by Phillip Hughes' death, an event which moved Greg Chappell, one of their all-time greatest batsmen, to describe it as Australia's Princess Diana moment.

Other sports and sportsmen have undergone similar situations and we in Scotland have been far from immune.

Enshrined in ballad is the death of John Thomson, the Celtic goalkeeper who died as a result of an accidental collision with the Rangers centre-forward Sam English at Ibrox in 1931. Newsreel survives which shows English's horrified reaction and he is reported to have found it hard to cope thereafter, but it is fair to say that Old Firm rivalry in the intervening years has been no less intense as a result.

The Celtic connection also invokes the memory of Phil O'Donnell's on-field death and the triumph of the human spirit that means that his nephew David Clarkson, a team-mate that afternoon, continued his career and has recently set records with his latest club Dundee.

Among the most calamitous of sporting accidents was one which involved Jim Clark, the Scottish motor racing great, at Monza in 1961, when his collision during the penultimate race of the campaign with then Formula One world championship leader Wolfgang von Trips resulted in the German and 15 spectators being killed after von Trips' Ferrari was launched through the perimeter fencing.

He was one of three drivers to die during the course of that season and the carnage of that era was ultimately to claim Clark's life - darkly ironically in von Trips' native Germany seven years later - while there have been many more tragedies in the sport since. Indeed, this year's 20th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death in the San Marino Grand Prix prompted reminders of the scenes in Brazil which greeted news of his death.

Given the joy and excitement that it brings to millions, it is right that motor racing has continued throughout, which is not to be in any way complacent since every effort must be exerted to make sport safer. Yet, almost by definition, in order to remain truly thrilling, those carrying the prospect of the human body being involved in any sort of collisions at speed can never be made completely safe.

There is, too, a difference between incidental injury and that involving intent, which has led to questions being raised about the bowling of bouncers in cricket following Hughes' death. But how do we compare Sean Abbott's mindset when letting go of that ball with footballers who aim elbows at opponents or rugby players who charge recklessly into a ruck with their knees or throw punches?

I have long been of the view that the one mainstream sport with real difficulty in this regard is boxing, not because of the level of danger or the intent of the participants, but because the rules go beyond permitting acts of aggression towards opponents. They actually reward those who inflict brain damage, as the fastest way to win a bout is to knock out an opponent.

However, that debate is for another day and, this week, the focus has been on cricket and the return to active involvement of the two players most closely linked with this latest tragedy.

Having cut such a distraught figure as he mourned his former provincial and international team-mate there will have been mixed feelings for Michael Clarke when Australia's captain registered his century against India in the delayed first Test of their series.

As for young Abbott, we can only imagine what courage it took to return to action at the same venue as the accident occurred, deliver a bouncer with his fifth ball and bowl with sufficient intent to take two for 53 for New South Wales in their Sheffield Shield meeting with Queensland.

Such is the importance of cricket in Australian life, though, they could have paid their former colleague no greater tribute.