Australian Cricketer Phil Hughes Dies at 25

The cricket world plunged into grief and sadness, as young and talented Australian cricketer Phil Hughes died in coma. Hughes was hit by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match on Tuesday and collapsed on the pitch. Hughes was rushed to the hospital where he underwent a critical surgery.

The doctors tried their best, but could not revive him. He never regained consciousness following the injury. Hughes missed his attempted hook against Sean Abbott and the ball struck him below the helmet, causing a cerebral haemorrhage. Sean Abbott, who bowled the bouncer, went into deep shock and had to receive counselling.

Several Australian cricketers including Brad Haddin, Steven Smith, Shane Watson, David Warner, Nathan Lyon, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Starc, Daniel Smith, Ricky Ponting, Simon Katich, Phil Jaques and Brett Lee were in the hospital, praying for Hughes’ recovery. Many other cricketers and officials, including Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade, Peter Siddle, Peter Forrest, George Bailey, Ed Cowan, Justin Langer, and Cricket Australia’s CEO James Sutherland and national coach Darren Lehmann too visited him.

Hughes, who made his Test debut on February 26, 2009 and ODI debut on January 11, 2013, played his last ODI on October 12, 2014 against Pakistan. His last Test match against England on July 18, 2013. He played 26 Tests and scored 1,535 runs with 3 hundreds and 7 fifties. He scores 826 runs in 25 ODIs with 2 hundreds and 4 fifties.