If there’s one thing the last couple of weeks have taught us, it’s that cricket is not for the faint hearted.

Firstly, Shane Warne was forced to hospital after being struck by a Brett Lee beamer, unable to captain his Rest of the World side in the Lord’s Bicentenary match against a Sachin Tendulkar-led MCC XI. He was diagnosed with a broken hand.

Then, in possibly the most gruesome incident in recent history, a nasty bouncer snuck between the visor and grill of Somerset batsman Craig Kieswetter, leaving him dazed and bleeding profusely on the Northampton pitch.

Kieswetter was later diagnosed with a broken nose and fractured orbital socket.

That particular blow brought to mind a similar injury suffered by then Brisbane Heat opener, now New Zealand Test captain, Brendon McCullum at the hands of the Sydney Sixers’ Brett Lee in BBL|01.

Australia’s club cricketers have also joined the gruesome party, posting images of their own stomach-churning injuries on Cricket Australia’s MyCricket Facebook page.

In an anecdote sure to bring tears to the eyes of any red-blooded male, Wayne Antonio Bennett recounted his tale of being hit particularly firmly where his box should have been.

“That put me in hospital for weeks,” he wrote. “(I) could not walk for 2 months and (had) a scar 13 staples long.”

Rob McMahon’s tale of woe was equally distressing.

“A few years ago I got hit in the face from a bouncer and as a result suffered a shattered eye socket and fractured jaw,” he wrote.

“(Resulting in) two operations, steel plates and scarring around my eye and inside my mouth.”

“My eye filled up with blood on inside (and I) spent 6 weeks in hospital,” Tony Overbeek replied.

“Tell this guy he's lucky.”

Coincidentally, this week also marked the 30-year anniversary of Malcolm Marshall batting one-handed after sustaining a double-fracture in his thumb.

He went on to swing, slice and swipe his way to four runs, helping number three Larry Gomes to triple figures, and the West Indies to a narrow first-innings lead.

The all-time great then claimed an incredible 7-53 with the ball, including a single-handed caught and bowled, to secure the win over England and his own place in cricketing folklore.