Australian cricketer PHILLIP HUGHES "died in a Sydney hospital on Thursday, two days after being struck by the ball while batting in a match for South Australia against New South Wales," according to Matthew Engel of the FINANCIAL TIMES. He "would and should have been celebrating his 26th birthday on Sunday." The worldwide cricketing community, "which had been holding its breath fearfully since the incident happened, was immediately plunged into both mourning and introspection." Hughes "was struck by a bouncer" bowled by the fast bowler SEAN ABBOTT, "which appeared to hit him on an unprotected area at the back of his neck." Hughes "stood groggily for a few moments before collapsing, being stretchered off and -- after a long wait for an ambulance -- being placed in an induced coma, from which he never emerged." The Australian team doctor PETER BRUKNER said Hughes suffered an “incredibly rare” injury: a vertebral artery dissection which caused a brain hemorrhage. Brukner added that "he had found only a hundred previous recorded cases, one caused by a cricket ball" (FT, 11/27). In London, Gillespie & Hodgson wrote a lone cricket bat adorned with a cap "stood propped against the fence at Lord’s cricket ground in London this weekend as people around the world paid tribute" to Hughes. That "he should have died in a freak incident in the most gentlemanly of sports added a poignancy to the tragedy and prompted a wave of grief across the cricket world and beyond." QUEEN ELIZABETH "sent a private message of condolence to Hughes’s family, the England and Sri Lanka teams held a minute’s silence and wore black armbands for their one-day match in Colombo" and ELTON JOHN paused during a concert in Munich to dedicate "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to Hughes. The first match in Australia’s Test series against India, which was due to begin on Thursday, "has been postponed." Cricket Australia CEO JAMES SUTHERLAND said that "it would have been unreasonable to expect the players to start the four-Test series less than 24 hours after Hughes was laid to rest." England captain ALASTAIR COOK "may travel to Australia for the funeral." Cook: “It was a tragic day for cricket. Ours is an incredibly sad dressing room and all our thoughts are with the Hughes family and those Australian players who knew him so well.” SEAN ABBOTT, 22, the New South Wales player "who bowled the fatal bouncer, is at his home in the Baulkham Hills area of Sydney." Sutherland said the bowler was “holding up well” as he came to terms with the tragedy (SUNDAY TIMES, 11/30).
BROTHERS: Also in London, Jess Denham wrote Australian cricket captain MICHAEL CLARKE "led the birthday tributes" to his "bro" with an emotional News Corp. column. He wrote, "I don't think in 12 years of playing cricket at the top level I have ever come across a more loyal or generous-hearted team mate. I don't have a blood brother but I am very proud to have called Phillip my brother. I am a better man for having known him" (INDEPENDENT, 11/30). In Sydney, Adrian Proszenko wrote Clarke "delivered a touching tribute" to Hughes and said that "the Australian dressing room will never be the same without him." Clarke "held a media conference on Saturday morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the scene of Hughes' last innings." Speaking on behalf of the Australian cricket team and its support staff, Clarke "struggled to get through a prepared statement." It "lasted just two minutes and seven seconds but eloquently summed up the regard in which the Macksville cricketer was held." Clarke: "Words cannot express what we all feel as a team right now. To Greg, Virginia, Jason and Megan, we share in the deep pain you're feeling" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 11/29).
WORLDWIDE TRIBUTES: The BBC reported tributes "were paid" to Hughes at sports fixtures around the world. England and Australia rugby union players "wore black armbands and held a minute's applause at Twickenham." Australian footballer MILE JEDINAK "took a bat onto the pitch" before EPL side Crystal Palace faced Swansea. Countryman ADAM FEDERICI "placed a bat in his goal during Reading's Championship match against Norwich." Elsewhere, a minute's silence was observed at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff "before Wales faced South Africa in a rugby union international." Arsenal and ManU "were among a number of Premier League football teams to add tributes using #putyourbatsout on social media." And football teams in Australia's A-League "paid tribute to Hughes before and during their games." Fans "applauded in the 63rd minute of matches to mark Hughes's score when he was struck" (BBC, 11/29). In London, England batsman KEVIN PIETERSEN wrote "Hughes was the kind of fellow player you always liked to keep an eye on from afar." I "would always look out for his scores and hope he had made runs because he batted with a wonderful spirit and freedom." He "made the absolute most of his ability and wanted to entertain the supporters by playing cricket in the positive style we all love to watch" (TELEGRAPH, 11/27).
INVESTIGATION: In London, James Riach wrote an expert on cricket equipment safety believes that "helmet manufacturers will in the future be able to protect the upper neck of a batsman without restricting their movement, following calls for player safety to be heightened in the aftermath" of Hughes’s death. Sutherland announced that CA will “immediately” conduct an investigation. Gunn & Moore and Gray-Nicolls both confirmed this week that "the incident could cause manufacturers to reassess protection of the neck." Former England captain NASSER HUSSAIN said on Thursday, "Putting bits on the neck ... is an area we’ve never thought about" (GUARDIAN, 11/28). In N.Y., Alan Cowell wrote organizers of the sport on Friday "promised an investigation into safety measures, including the design of protective helmets." But they displayed "little readiness" to disrupt what one administrator called the game’s “finely tuned balance between bat and ball.” In a "remarkable display of remembrance" on social media sites, "cricket teams and players from Australia and Ireland, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, to English country villages posted images of cricket bats and caps propped up in tribute to the player." Hughes was said to have been wearing an older type of helmet,
manufactured by a British company, Masuri, which has said a newer design
gives “extra protection” in the area at the rear of the skull where he
was struck. But an article in The Independent
on Friday said the newest design “does not appear to offer much
coverage to the area either.” The Independent said, “Hughes
was desperately unlucky. He had turned almost
180 degrees away from the direction of the ball” when it struck him (N.Y. TIMES, 11/28).
CLAMPDOWN UNLIKELY: REUTERS' Martyn Herman reported ICC CEO DAVID RICHARDSON said clampdown on bouncers "is unlikely." Richardson: "We need to try and keep our perspective. It's a bit early to determine, but my initial reaction is that that's unlikely. People have died by being struck on the heart before. I don't think cricket needs to over-react, but do what we can" (REUTERS, 11/30).
LOGISTICAL DILEMMA: In Melbourne, Andrew Wu wrote the Brisbane Test "could be moved into the new year under one scenario being considered" by CA on Sunday night in a bid to salvage the game. CA "is facing a logistical dilemma as it works through myriad issues with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its host broadcasters as it tries to reschedule the first Test." The fate of the Brisbane Test "is expected to be decided on Monday but it is looking increasingly unlikely it will be played this week -- though officials are still exploring the possibility of the match being pushed back by one or two days" (THE AGE, 11/30).
STANDSTILL: Also in Melbourne, Rachel Olding wrote Macksville "will come to a slow and solemn standstill on Wednesday when the small northern NSW town farewells the man they called 'Our Phillip.'" Nambucca Shire mayor RHONDA HOBAN said that "they were considering a foot procession from Macksville High School back to the main part of town following the funeral" for batsman Hughes. Hoban said that "most shop owners would close for the afternoon and line the streets for the funeral procession." Hoban: "It's tradition in our town when a very high profile person who's had a significant input into the community passes away, for the local shops to close their doors and all the staff to come out and stand on the street." Hoban said that about 5,000 people "were expected to attend the 2pm service at the Macksville High School sports stadium." Two large screens on two ovals "will cater for the large overflow" (THE AGE, 11/30).
