A former Australian cricket team doctor says he is amazed that even some batsmen who were on the field when Phillip Hughes was fatally struck by a bouncer have until now refused to wear neck guards attached to their helmets.

Dr Peter Brukner was Cricket Australia’s chief medico when Hughes died in 2014, and rushed to Sydney to be at his bedside after he was hit while playing for South Australia against NSW in a Sheffield Shield game.

He said he felt sick when he watched Steve Smith hit on a similar spot by England fast bowler Jofra Archer during the Lord’s Test but could not fault the management of Smith on the day, even though he came back onto the field to resume his innings after passing concussion tests. Smith felt delayed concussion symptoms the following day and has been ruled out of the third Test at Headingley, starting Thursday.

"I just had a sinking feeling in my stomach that it looked horribly like another incident that I watched far too many times five years ago," Brukner said in a video interview with The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.