Phillip Hughes‘ death on Thursday 27th November 2014 rattled a sporting community and brought a nation to its knees. Thousands of emotional tributes have flowed in for a young man who has been halted in the prime of his life.
“Phillip Hughes is a tough, pesky 20-year-old lefty from the sticks who bats and lives by his own lights,” was former sports writer for the Sydney Morning Herald Peter Roebuck‘s take on the up-and-coming Australian cricketer.
The country lad who should be celebrating his 26th birthday on Sunday has left the cricketing world wondering what could have been. Hit by a regulation bouncer, Hughes’ injury has shaken his many supportive team mates and undeniably shattered the deliverer of the ball, NSW paceman Sean Abbott.
Australian captain Michael Clarke was by his mates side for much of the medical ordeal that was to unravel between the incident on Tuesday and Hughes’ death on Thursday.
“Hughesy was like a little brother to Michael,” commented Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland at a press conference held at St. Vincent’s Hospital on Thursday after Clarke had made a statement on behalf of the Hughes family.
“Cricket was Phillip’s life, and we as a family shared that love of the game with him… we love you,” read Clarke in a brief and emotional moment before the press.
Growing up on a banana farm in Macksville on the North Coast of NSW, Hughes loved the game of cricket and began his representative career at the age of 11. He went on to play at state level and made his debut for the NSW Blues in 2007 at the age of 18.
At 19 Hughes scored an impressive century against the Victorian Bushrangers in the Sheffield Shield final, the first teenager to score a century in a Pura Cup final. A year later, Hughes would debut for his country against the pacey and perky South Africans at The Wanderers.
“I’d love to have a crack at them” Hughes commented when asked how he felt about going up against such tough opposition at home. This confidence typified Hughes’ approach to his own game and reflected in his results as a professional. He tore Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel up at The Wanderers, hitting centuries in both innings of his second test match becoming the youngest player from any country ever to do so.
More suited to the longer form of the game, Phillip had several opportunities to represent his country at One Day level. He is the first Australian to score a century on debut and accumulated 826 runs from his 24 innings including 2 centuries and 4 half-centuries at an average of over 35 and strike-rate of 75.
Constantly dogged by Criticism of his batting technique and dropped from the Australian Test squad as more of a scape-goat for a weakening side then a ‘batsman out of form’, Hughes remained calm, quiet and demonstrated his resilience by batting his way back into contention for the upcoming summer.
Hughes was hit behind the ear by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG at 2:23 pm on Tuesday afternoon. He collapsed on the field after losing consciousness, was revived and driven to St. Vincent’s Hospital via ambulance.
Hughes underwent surgery to relieve pressure on the brain after a catastrophic bleed resulting from damage to a major artery. He never regained consciousness from the incident on Tuesday and was with his family and friends at the time of his passing on Thursday afternoon.
The passing of such a likeable and loved personality has drawn out support and tributes from across the world. Tweets, posts, flowers and forwards do not properly account for the love felt for this man. Clearly an inspiration to his peers and a warm person, I feel that Phillip Hughes will be missed more as a person than simply an entertainer, crafty-cricketer or catalyst for another notch in the Australian sporting belt.
Plans are being made for upcoming matches with players vocally refusing to play while they morn a friend. The sporting world has been brought into check as we remember the personal qualities of the players we love so much.
