Who Is Philip Hughes? (image-twitter/@ICC)
It’s been 10 years since former Australian cricketer Philip Hughes has died after being hit a ball during domestic competition in Australia. Hughes was then just 25 years old when he got struck by a bouncer on the side of his head below the helmet while playing in a Sheild game in Sydney on November 25.
Hughes, though underwent surgery soon after the incident after being rushed from the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Australian opener was only able to regain consciousness to bid his last goodbye on November 27, 2014. The impact was so severe that it had caused a rare vertebral dissection, leading to a brain hemorrhage.
Philips untimely death had sent shockwaves throughout the global cricketing community and led to significant changes in the player safety protocols.
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Family and friends honouring the memory of the ‘Charismatic’ Australian cricketer on Wednesday marked a decade since his passing.Philips Huges was a prominent batter for the Australian team across all formats. He had played 26 Tests, 25 ODIs, and one T20 for the national team before his unfortunate death.
His family remembering him said, “Phillip was a loving, humorous, and infectious person to be around”.
Cricket Australia too has announced a series of events to honour Hughes, coinciding with the second Test between Australia and India starting December 6.
All the Australian players paying tribute in the upcoming domestic games will wear black armbands in Hughes’ memory.
Sean Abbott bowled the fatal delivery that had stuck Hughes. He was seen wiping away tears when Philip’s family paid the tribute. NSW players consoled Abbott as they stood for an emotional tribute, including observing a minute’s silence, before the start of play on day four of their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania at the SCG.
Abbott, after the tragic incident which was partially caused by him, said, “It was all a bit of a blur, and I felt like I was in a bit of a daze. These feelings stayed with me for the next few days,” Abbott stated to a coroner’s court in 2016 as he struggled to cope with the incident.
Phillip, the small-town country boy, became an Australian Test, One-Day and Twenty-20 cricketer, where he played on the toughest pitches around the globe, alongside the toughest of cricketers on the world stage, but never forgot where he came from and who helped along the way,” the family said in the message.
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“He was a unique individual that took risky and adventurous strides to conquer the dreams he set for himself to become test baggy green number 408.”
