Hobart Hurricanes coach Gary Kirsten was reminded of the dangers of the job when one of his own players broke his jaw in a freak accident.

The former Proteas coach was giving his star opener D’Arcy Short some throwdowns in the indoor nets when he was slammed by a searing drive, leaving him with gruesome facial injuries.

Kirsten, in his first year at the helm of the Hurricanes, suffered a cracked jaw and required dental work to fix several chipped teeth. He did not require surgery and although he was sporting some heavy swelling around his mouth, Kirsten was able to complete his coaching duties as normal when the Hurricanes’ clashed with the Brisbane Heat.

The incident has, however, forced a rethink of protective requirements for coaches giving players throwdowns, according to Hurricanes captain George Bailey.

‘It was wet, so we were in the indoor centre,’ Bailey told cricket.com.au. ‘Darce just whacked one back at him that he didn’t pick up in time.

‘He is hitting the ball pretty cleanly and hard at the moment. It was a bit messy. Kirsten has actually come out of it very luckily in the big scheme of things.’