Sports Headlines I Thought I'd Never See: Improving Cricket Safety

Unaware as I was about a worrisome rash of serious injuries in the sport of cricket (a game whose intricacies still elude me), I was shocked by by The Economist's headline Improving cricket safety: Better cricket helmets are no substitute for good batting technique:

The best way to face this kind of bowling is to watch the ball and sway out of the way. This is a skill that responsible coaches still teach. To this end, Mr Cook and Mr Trott are right to trust in their abilities. But even players of the calibre of the English duo make mistakes, and the sport does not need to lose any more great players to injury. Cricket is at its best when it is combative and aggressive—and when all 13 players leave the field healthy.

You see the real problem, right?

No game can be played safely with 13 players on a side.

Triskaidekaphobia should not be denied.

Besides, I understood only 11 players were on a side. Of course, that's a Wikipedia reference, so ...

UPDATE: Well,of course, "batting" in cricket is done in pairs. 2 (batters) + 11 (fielder, etc) =13 on the field at any given moment. Still, there is that 13 thing.