I could have been Hughes: Mark Vermeulen

If Phillip Hughes was fatally unlucky to be killed by a single blow of a cricket ball, then Mark Vermeulen is fortunate to still be alive.

The Zimbabwe batsman was struck on the head on three different occasions during his career, twice sustaining a fractured skull.

The consequences included depression, temporary insanity, an arson attack on the national cricket academy, a spell in jail, attempted suicide and a brush with Robert Mugabe's henchmen.

"It could have been a lot worse for me, not only the injuries, but the outcome of all the other events," Vermeulen told BBC Sport. "Phillip Hughes could have been me 10 years ago."

Remarkably, the 35-year-old made a redemptive return to Test cricket earlier this year, but opted to retire after only one match, ending a career that almost cost him his life.

'If I got hit again it could be fatal'

Vermeulen, the son of a dentist, made a promising start to his international career, scoring 61 in his second Test against England at Lord's  in May 2003.

By this time, though, he had already been hit on the head playing for Zimbabwe Under-19s and suffered a first fractured skull while batting in the nets at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

But it was a sickening third head injury that would change the then 24-year-old's life. On 20 January 2004, Vermeulen was facing India's Irfan Pathan in a one-day international in Brisbane.

A bouncer, an attempted hook. Leather cracking skull once more.

"I thought I was fine. I thought I would take off my helmet and carry on batting," he reflected.

"It was only when I started walking off the field, then half-an-hour later, that I felt the pain. When I was in the ambulance I thought that surely this has got to be it - I can't keep going through this.

"The doctor who did the operation on me said I shouldn't really play cricket again because if I got hit, it could be fatal.

"After a time, because I loved cricket so much, I thought I'd keep giving it a go and see what happened."

'I threw the ball into the crowd'

Vermeulen was back playing international cricket only two months later, but, by his own admission, his performances suffered because of the fear of being hit again.

By the summer of 2006, the consequences of those blows were proving far more serious than a shrinking batting average.

Vermeulen had previously shown a tendency to find trouble - he once took the stumps and locked himself in the changing room after a decision in a school game with which he disagreed, and was sent home from Zimbabwe's 2003 tour of England for disciplinary reasons.

But an incident while playing for Lancashire club Werneth  would have bigger ramifications.

"Towards the end of that season, I found myself getting more and more frustrated, particularly trying to deal with my parents' divorce. We were brought up in a strict Christian environment, so I was left thinking 'what the hell am I supposed to believe now?'

"I saw my father in England, he was enjoying life and getting remarried. I thought 'if he can do whatever he wants, I'll start throwing my toys around and do whatever I want'.

"I was getting heckled by some guys in the crowd. It continued until I thought 'I've had enough of this nonsense'.

"I threw the ball into the crowd and it hit the step and came back. I picked it up and went to throw it again, but one of my team-mates stopped me. I got into a scuffle. The chairman of the club tried to stop me and he hit me."

Vermeulen was banned from playing any cricket in England for 10 years, reduced to three on appeal. He returned home, but his behaviour at Werneth saw the Zimbabwe selectors leave him out of the squad for the 2007 World Cup.