It was pretty common years ago for bowlers to sledge about trying to knock a batsman's head off as means to drive fear and a false shot out of them. It didn't mean they deliberately went out to hit the batsman in the head and kill them. There's classic footage from the World Series era of Lillee tapping his head when he got Tony Greig on one of the first helmets.
Sadly, Phil Hughes death was a tragic accident. It doesn't bring back Phil nor help the family, but if anything is to come out of this tragedy, it is hopefully a modified helmet design that can prevent a similar blow resulting in death or serious injury.
