Relieved Bailey thanks helmet after being hit by bouncer

In the seventh over of Pune’s reply, Delhi paceman Coulter-Nile, who made his Australia Twenty20 debut under Bailey in 2013, banged in a short delivery that deflected off his former skipper’s top edge and smashed into the grille of the helmet. 

The violent impact caused the tumbling headgear to partially disintegrate as it rolled wide of the stumps.

“I think those watching on TV would get a better picture of it than I do, because what I sort of remember is me getting hit on the face with a truck that was pretty quick,” Bailey said after his team’s 19-run victory. “But, I was pretty glad to have one of those new helmets on.” Last week, Cricket Australia decided to make helmets compulsory.